Hoteliers want continued state support

“The restart does not automatically mean recovery,” said the president of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos during the meeting of the Board. of the Chamber that hosted Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, noting the strong differences that exist mainly in terms of the continuous operation of hotels in the cities and the mountainous regions of the country. Mr. Vasilikos stressed that given the uncertainties that still exist in the global tourism market, there is a need to continue targeted state support, where there is a real need.

The President of the Chamber also referred to the need for long-term planning for Greek Hospitality in the areas of sustainability, digital transformation, quality, the creation of new infrastructure and the upgrading of human resources skills. These directions, as Mr. Vasilikos stressed, are fully in line with the priorities of the European economy, as reflected in the objectives of the Recovery Fund and the National Plan “Greece 2.0”.

Finally, the Chamber President emphasized what Hospitality offers society and referred in detail to two emblematic initiatives of the Chamber for the next period, such as the new program for sustainability in hotels and the new organization “HOTELS FOR” created in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, with the sole object of developing social responsibility initiatives, supporting those in need and promoting the goals of sustainable development.

After the meeting, Mr. Vasilikos made the following statement:

“We were very pleased to welcome the new Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias at today’s meeting of the Board of Foreign Affairs and we had the opportunity for an extremely interesting and productive discussion. In the context of the role and mission of the FDI as an institutional advisor of the State, we informed Mr. Kikilias in detail about our positions, proposals and actions both in the short and long term as well as the special emphasis given by the industry. in his relations with society. The goal is common, the effort is common. Sustainable Hospitality to become the great protagonist of a new Greece “.

The Minister of Tourism Mr. Vassilis Kikilias made the following statement:

“Tourism is the locomotive of the Greek economy but it does not operate in autopilot. The professionals of Greek tourism and especially the Greek Hoteliers, large and small units, are the ones who create jobs and income over time, which drive the economy and bring growth to the country.

My job is to support all professionals in the industry, to upgrade their hotel units, to stand out through promotional activities, to become sustainable and environmentally friendly. Greek hospitality, the uniqueness of the tourism product, our strong brand are the bases to attract more and more quality tourism throughout the year.

That is why we are working on 4 pillars:

First the upgrade of infrastructure.

Second the creation of a crisis management task force.

Third, the digitization of the tourism product.

Fourth, upskilling and reskilling, ie the reform and upgrading of tourism education in Greece.

I participated in the meeting of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, in the context of the close and daily cooperation with the institutional advisor of the State in Hotel matters. As in my recent meeting with the President of the Chamber, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos, so today I realized our understanding in order to meet the challenges of the next day “.