Tourism: a Doubling of funds projection for 2017 with a decision”

“Tourism is a government priority, and the prime minister, mr Alexis Tsipras doubled for the 2017 advertising funds for the promotion of the country in the…
abroad and the strengthening of our international image”. A very important statement for Greek Tourism, the minister of Tourism, Elena Kountouras, speaking yesterday at the plenary session of the Parliament, in the debate on the budget.
Mrs. the minister referred to the actions of the ministry and the Greek national tourism organisation, while gave and priorities for 2017. “The last two years, our government has led to tourism in the higher historical performance in spite of successive challenges and difficulties,” said mrs. Kountoura and pointed out that this result came because, for the first time, there was planning and national tourism policy in Greece.
He also said that in 2015, with direct operational and communicative actions, Greece has achieved a record of arrivals and revenue, though it was a year of unprecedented difficulties, with two elections, a referendum, with political negotiations, treaties πολιτικοοικονομικής of suffocation, strong pressure from the institutions, with a continuous play of a threat of a Grexit and with continuous blows from abroad to the international image of the country.
Exceeded all expectations and the result of 2016, as has been vigilant and plan in the face of geopolitical developments in the wider region, the Refugees, the terrorism in the heart of Europe and in neighbouring countries, in the attempted coup in Turkey, in the referendum on the Brexit.
“We have achieved a further increase of visitors during one and a half million against the historical record of 2015, and total international arrivals will reach 27.5 million, given that the cruise has been a 20% increase” said mrs. Kountoura and stressed that for the first time, was designed and implemented in Greece national tourism policy.
He said: “For the first time we have tried and we have succeeded in lengthening the period from April to November and, following the high πληροτήτων of July-August, the months of September and October were the best months of all time almost all over Greece and in many areas the hotels they stayed for the first time, open up to end of November”.
The minister of Tourism was reported and exposures to new, foreign markets for attracting visitors with high incomes and high travel costs and, in parallel, emerged new Greek destinations.
At the same time priority was given to the creation of a friendly environment for the attraction and implementation of new tourism investments with high added value. This is reflected in the deposit envelopes, as well as in 2016, to the competent Service, in ΕΥΠΑΤΕ, one hundred and forty-two proposals of new investments, hotel, and special tourism infrastructure.
Of these, 101 proposals concerning plans for new hotels and existing of more than three hundred beds in the categories of four and five-star. Mrs. Kountoura has been mentioned in a number of interventions to support tourism businesses and added that mobilized the resources of over 300 million euro to support small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, and for new public tourist infrastructure, through the co-funded european programmes.
Also, state aid of eur 210 million will be directed through two very large programmes of NSRF 2014-2020 to encourage existing small and medium-sized enterprises and for modernisation and upgrading, but also for the establishment of new. The ministry is preparing new regulations that will enrich the tourist map of Greece and she is also preparing the institutional framework of the technical specifications for plant installations thermal water treatment centres, thermal tourism etc.
Also redesigned and modernized the system of the Registry of Tourist Enterprises, the encoding of the tourism legislation and the priorities and changes in public tourism education.