Tourism Minister: Vertical increase in bookings

The goal of the policy of the Ministry of Tourism is for our country to become a champion in tourism, states Minister Vassilis Kikilias in an interview with OT. He emphasizes that from the first days of 2022, there is a vertical increase in bookings for this year and emphasizes the need “to work together” and for this reason convenes the Regional Tourism Council.

What are the first estimates for 2022? Do you think we can overcome 2019?

Our effort has only one goal: Greece to become a champion in tourism in the summer of 2022. This will be a victory for the country. The prize is the “dividend” that will be returned to the average Greek family. With new jobs, with increasing income, with new investments. The image we get from tour operators, airlines, hotels, cruises, is very good. From the first days of 2022, we see a vertical increase in bookings.

But the comparison with the period before the coronavirus, let me say, is not a test. The way every citizen travels has changed. The selection criteria have changed and health insurance is at the top. And to achieve that, we must all work together. To join forces. That is why I convened the Regional Tourism Council, in a meeting that will take place tomorrow in Athens.

What do Tui’s initiatives in Rhodes mean for Greek tourism?

The climate that has been formed for Greek Tourism, both by the initiatives of TUI and by all the big “players” internationally, is very positive and allows us to be optimistic about the success of this tourist season and of course its extension.

As you know, 20 days ago the TUI Group, one of the largest providers of tourism services in the world, announced the establishment of the Co-Lab of the Group in Rhodes. It is the first collaborative laboratory for the beneficial green and digital transformation of the entire chain of services related to tourism.

Obviously, the choice of a Greek island-brand is not just random. It has to do with a Greece which, after showing great resilience during the first two years of the pandemic, is preparing to star in the upcoming tourist season.

In fact, as stated by the CEO of TUI Group, Fritz Joussen, out of the 1.5 million TUI customers who visited Greece in 2021, this year the plan concerns 3 million TUI customers, which means that the visitors who will travel to Greece through the Group may even exceed the levels of 2019. He even considers that Greece will be one of the “winners” of the health crisis, emphasizing that the protection measures prepared and activated by Greece during the pandemic were a crucial support for tourism.

There was a lot of discussion about the new development law and the participation of hotels. Playing the devil’s advocate, will the hoteliers finally get all the money again?

As you probably know, Tourism is a diverse activity with huge benefits for the national economy. Much of the revenue generated is disseminated in many areas of the production process and in particular in the service sector, local economies, business activities of related sectors, such as trade and food service and of course to their employees.

The development law is a strategic tool for investment in the country. I remind you that after consultation with the Deputy Minister of Development Nikos Papathanasis, the modernization and upgrade of 3-star hotels, which is 23% of the industry, were subject to the law.

However, the development law has also included many other investment projects related to tourist facilities. Indicatively, I mention the establishment, expansion and modernization of tourist organized camps, the establishment, expansion and modernization of hotel units within designated traditional or listed buildings and non-main tourist accommodation, if they have the distinctive title “hostel accommodation in traditional” in areas up to 30 km from the border and on islands with a population of less than 3,100 inhabitants, are classified in a category of 5 keys and maintain a minimum number of 20 rooms for rent.

Also, the development law has given special weight to the support of specific tourism investments that relate to alternative forms of tourism and aim at the development and promotion of the special characteristics of the regions of Greece (geographical, social, cultural, religious).

I will mention some of them: conference centers, golf courses, tourist ports, ski resorts, theme parks, diving tourism facilities, spa tourism facilities, spa treatment centers, thermal spa tourism centers, spa treatment centers, spa therapy, tourism, mountain shelters, highways, agritourism, wine tourism, geotourism, multifunctional farms, tourist accommodation in the Glamping countryside.

So we all win and above all our national economy and ultimately the country.

Cruises. Are Cruise Ships going elsewhere? What do we plan for better results for our tourism?

The key phrase is “developmental and rational management”. According to a research by diANEOsis, Greece, although it is the 4th most popular cruise destination in the Mediterranean with more than 2 million arrivals of cruise visitors each year, remains in the 8th place of the European Union countries in revenues from this activity.

So what do we want to do?

First, to highlight our major ports such as Piraeus and Thessaloniki as home port destinations. The agreement with the Norwegian company “Norwegian”, for example, states that the largest port in the country must be prepared in time for possible arrivals. We are talking about more than 80 calls in Piraeus, 50 of which will be home port, something that happens after 5 years. At the same time, Thessaloniki has an increase of over 250% in cruise ship arrivals, compared to last year.

Secondly, we work intensively in order to be able to offer visitors a quality tourist experience and at the same time not to burden the very popular destinations and their inhabitants. This means developmental and rational management.

Some argue that the deterioration of the “hard” indicators of the pandemic in our country is a result of the poor situation of the NSS but also of the “weakness” shown by the country in the tourism industry, which called for a rapid opening of tourism, with resulting in an increase in cases. What is your opinion both as Minister of Tourism and as former Minister of Health?

After two years of pandemic, it is now clear that the increase in cases worldwide is not linked to tourism.

Especially in our country, the reflexes we have shown in dealing with this global Public Health Crisis have been immediate and decisive.

In 2020 we took all the necessary measures in time and this was seen both in the indicators of the pandemic, in relation to other countries, and in the tourism with the international recognition that existed, as we opened when most of our competing Mediterranean countries did not.

We implemented very specific and carefully studied measures. We sent additional health personnel to our islands and we followed our health protocols with absolute strictness. We organized quarantine hotels, doctors were in cooperation with all hotel units. And of course, we implemented a multi-testing system, equipping our islands with thousands of PCR and rapid tests so that both our visitors and the residents and employees of the islands can be under constant epidemiological surveillance.

It was a very difficult task, with very good organization, transparency and teamwork, which paid off. So we managed to rebrand the country and consider Greece a safe country. We capitalized on this strong security message to the travelers of our country in 2021. This is what we are broadcasting this year as well. And it seems that it has already reached its recipients.