Tourism minister – Tourism is a field of cooperation between Greece and Turkey

“We live in sensitive times and times, sometimes difficult, but we must all agree that tourism, travel, is the context in which we can and will be able to work and cooperate even better,” said Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias during his speech at the 9th Greek-Turkish Forum on Tourism and the 4th Joint Tourism Committee held in Izmir.

Mr. Kikilias expressed his special satisfaction that after 10 years the Meeting of the Joint Tourism Committee is being held again and in a constructive way.

He emphasized that the goal was to “increase the number of cities and islands connected by ferry” and said that “if I had to prioritize pandemic-based targets and respect for health protocols – both countries would have taken important steps, in this direction by strengthening their national health systems – is to reduce bureaucracy and facilitate travel from Turkey to Greece and from Greece to Turkey.

“Visitors from Turkey are welcome, quality tourists, who visit our islands, Athens, Thessaloniki every year and we want to strengthen the tourist flow from Turkey,” he said.

The Minister of Tourism made special reference to the Greek delegation that accompanies him, which consists of “Greek Government officials, representatives of the tourism industry, technocrats, professionals and airline executives, to work with you and have a measurable result.”

At the end of the Summit, the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy signed a joint declaration of cooperation in the field of Tourism between the two countries.