![Tourism MIn.: High spending tourists from India in the crosshairs](https://www.ot.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/kikiliasToyrismos.jpeg)
The messages coming from large tourist markets are optimistic. After the USA, from where 500,000 travelers are expected to travel using direct flights to Greece this year, India is also showing great interest.
This was the reason why after the intervention of the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias ordered the immediate reinforcement of the Greek Embassy in New Delhi and the Consular Office, in order to be able to respond to the increase of Indian citizens’ applications. who want to go to our country to spend their holidays.
Attracting high spender travelers
It is noted that the opening to the very large market of India was one of the main goals of the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias in the context of the strategy to attract high spenders travelers.
Indian tourists are ranked number one in the world in terms of money spent on their holidays, while this year the relevant expenditure is expected to increase by 122% compared to 2019. According to the World Tourism Organization, Indians spend abroad when they are abroad. 4 times more money compared to the average Japanese and Chinese tourist, 140% more than the British and 71% more than the Americans.
The tourist products that attract Indian travelers in our country are luxury tourism and gastronomic tourism, cultural and touring, conference, wedding and film tourism.
Huge tourist market
The Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias stated:
“India is a huge tourism market with many travelers interested in alternative and thematic tourism. In the strategy we have devised and are now implementing, we have invested a lot in these types of tourism since there are multiple benefits : First we attract high spending travelers, second we extend our tourist season and third we “highlight” other, alternative destinations of our country, which until today were not very prominent. In this way we are optimistic that we will achieve our goal which has always been to strengthen the average Greek family in as many areas of the country as possible “.
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