WTM 2016 : Η συνέντευξη Κουντουρά

ΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΣ

Σε μία κατάμεστη αίθουσα, με πολλούς όρθιους, η υπουργός Τουρισμού Έλενα Κουντουρά, έκανε την παρουσίαση της ελληνικής συμμετοχής στην εφετινή World Travel Market.

Για όσους θέλουν να δουν την παρουσίαση, παραθέτουμε αποσπάσματα από την ομιλία της σε video, καθώς και την ομιλία ολόκληρη, η οποία έχει ως εξής:

“We are here today at the heart of where the global travel industry meets, to update you on Greece’s standing as a global attractive destination, a powerful brand-name. And also to present everything new that we now offer as a destination for authentic travel experiences 365 days a year, mainly based on the variety, diversity, and high quality of our tourism product.

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2016 has been another great year for Greek tourism. International arrivals grew by 7 per cent in the nine month period from January to September 2016 according to official figures provided by Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority.

The months July, August, September and October were the best months ever for our tourism. The cruise sector also had a significant increase, of more than 17 per cent in arrivals at Piraeus port, and even up to 20 per cent in other port destinations. By the end of the year, international arrivals are expected to exceed 27 million, including cruise arrivals, which is a new high record for Greece.

Both years, the average yearly growth was at about 7 per cent, much higher than the global average.   This has not been a random increase. It was the result achieved through implementing a specific plan to boost our tourism on a four year period, while at the same time we have taken steps to counteract challenges and turbulent occurring in both 2015 and 2016. Our efforts have been commended by the UNWTO General Secretary Mr. Taleb Rifai who has referred to Greece as a “case study” in terms of overcoming obstacles and maintaining a strong momentum in our tourism growth.

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Greece’s appealingness continued to increase in the UK travel market. Holiday bookings have increased six per cent in September, and about four per cent since the beginning of the year. The Greek islands experienced an increase in bookings of seven per cent overall from the UK. Early indications of bookings for 2017 reveal a significant year-on-year increase, a very positive development in regards to the strong interest as well as the potential the British market presents.

Due to the growing demand for travelling to Greece, several airlines and tour operators have already announced adding new flights to our destinations. UK carriers have announced new routes for 2017, such as Halkidiki from East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, and to Chania from Birmingham and Bristol.

British travelers are loyal and repeat visitors, and are steadily growing in numbers each year. To this end we place priority in enhancing our presence in the UK and maintaining a strong flow of travelers by promoting new and alternative options that apply to their needs and latest travel trends.

Since 2015, through our new tourism policy we designed we focused on six main areas of strategic importance, and took steps towards

  • extending the season
  • promoting new themed tourism products
  • introducing new Greek destinations,
  • opening new source-markets abroad and pursuing to establish new direct flights to our popular but also to new destinations
  • and attracting new investments to offer a continuously upgraded and competitive tourism product.

Through this plan as well as our strategic agreements with major tour operators for increased packages and flights for 2016 to popular and new Greek destinations, we accomplished to extend our official tourism season in 2016 for the first from the beginning of April and until November.

Greece is the ultimate destination in the Mediterranean and Europe for tourism 365 days a year. A highly diverse country with unique competitive advantages and with so much to offer other than sea and sun : unique culture, history and traditions, an exquisite landscape in the islands and the mainland, wellness, city-breaks, gastronomy, entertainment, adventure and sports are some only to name. Our destinations and the tourism industry create new tailor-made programs and products all year round for families, seniors, couples, trips with friends or for individual travelers, and also for business travel

We have as a political priority to coordinate all efforts on a national level to promote and showcase to the world and to each market we target all these highly competitive assets of our tourism product, all these unique aspects of our country as a must-see destination year-round. And to this end we are working closely with all 13 remarkably diverse regions of Greece, the municipalities, the Chambers, the tourism representatives, as well as the private sector.

The right time has come for Greece to expose the variety of our niche destinations and the wide array of authentic experiential and highly personalized experiences year-round that can satisfy even the most demanding visitors.

Greece is the largest and most diverse complex of islands in the Mediterranean, with 16 thousand kilometers of coastline and more than 100 inhabited islands. The islands’ close proximity and frequent interconnection, allows the visitors to discover multiple destinations, and gain diverse experiences in one trip. Our crustal-clear blue waters are among the safest in the world and are ideal for cruises and yachting.

The quality of our waters in the Aegean and Ionian Sea is excellent in more than 97 per cent of bathing spots tested according to data from the European Environment Agency. Greece was awarded in 2016 the third place internationally in the “Blue Flag” program, with 430 awarded organized beaches and 9 marinas.

Other than swimming, our visitors are offered countless options for activities such as sailing, diving, windsurfing to kayaking and kite surfing. They can hike and climb mythical mountains and rock-climb with spectacular view, as well as hike some unique gorges, the longest gorge in Europe (Samaria Crete)   as well as the deepest gorge in the world (Vikos, Epirus).

There are few places in the world where one can ski in the mountains and within a 20 minutes’ drive be by the seaside.

In the recent years, our ski resorts have been upgraded, new winter destinations have emerged and new hotels have been designed to match the distinct local architecture.

About 700 natural hot springs are scattered in the mainland and on our islands, with unique characteristics and beneficial properties, and we now accelerate procedures in order to encourage sustainable tourism activities and new investments for high quality health and wellness facilities and services.

Small hidden island and mainland paradises, which we support to emerge as new destinations, where every new investment is of high quality standards with respect to the preservation of the environment and their natural beauty.

Being the third leading European cruise destination, and given the importance of our sector for the growth of our national economy, we are working intensely on strengthening our position in the cruise programs for 2017 and 2018, including popular and new destinations.

We are forming a new national strategy to enhance our cruise product over the next years, through a National Committee where 28 public and private sector representatives participate.

We are also promoting our local culture identity, because we don’t want our visitors to miss the chance to attend world class cultural events, our museums, art galleries as well as local festivals and events across the country that celebrate culture and life.

Our food is healthy and tasteful at the same time, made from home-grown products and an inseparable element of our culture and identity.

We are currently taking further initiatives to link our tourism industry to our agricultural production. The unique Greek virgin olive oil, pure honey, a great variety of herbs and spices and cheeses, our fresh local produce are fundamental and plentiful in our culinary dishes that are combined with exceptional varieties of Greek wines.

We have also placed emphasis in further developing city-break. Our major cities are ideal city-break destinations combining culture and history with visits to monuments of world heritage, including 18 UNESCO sites, and infinite possibilities in leisure, entertainment, shopping and gastronomy.

Athens alone has witnessed a significant increase in arrivals with more than 4 million visitors last year, and a growth of 8 per cent in international arrivals in 2016. This year, seven new designer and boutique hotels entered the cityscape along with a raft of new high profile restaurants, and more are set to open in 2017.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre is the city’s newest cultural gem and one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects that will house the Greek National Opera, a two-million-book National Library and the 170 thousand square meters Park on Athens’s Faliro Bay shoreline.

These recent developments are creating a critical mass for a new contemporary culture, which has both sparked renewed interest in the country and further strengthen Greece as a destination and as a brand.

Our ministry is closely collaborating with the Attica Region and the Athens Municipality to further promote tourism projects and enhance the image and identity of our capital city as a major attractive city-break destination.

We are attracting visitors from new and emerging source markets, including China, South Korea, Poland, Israel and countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that show an increased interest for holidays to Greece. At the same time, we focused on the United States and Russia, from which we witness a strong upwards trend in arrivals to Greece in 2016. But we are also reinforcing our presence in dynamic markets such as the Scandinavian countries and Spain, and of course the UK, which has been and will continue to be a market of high importance to us.

The growth in tourism and the prime investment opportunity the sector presents have been driving up demand for new projects in high class accommodation and facilities. In 2015 more than 80 new 4 and 5 star hotels began operating across the country.

Our one-stop-shop at our ministry has been facilitating and accelerating the procedure for licensing and offers support to investors in all stages.

Foreign investors and schemes now explore concrete projects in tourism and real estate.

Special programs will be launched to support investments in spas, religious and pilgrimage tourism, as well as the use of public buildings to be connected with cultural tourism. We seek also to use public spaces for the creation of parks. We have also worked towards the upgrade of camping sites and the creation of new diving parks across Greece.

Our infrastructure map across the country is changing rapidly.

Following the ratification by the Greek parliament of contracts for the concession of 14 regional airports leased to Fraport Greece, the investors planning includes a 400 million euros investment in terminals, facelifts, and shopping centers, as well as the expansion of air connections and the attraction of an even larger number of airlines.

We pursue a specific strategic development plan for the port of Piraeus to emerge as a key cruise ship and homeporting base for the Mediterranean and Europe in the next years. The new cruise terminal was inaugurated last month, allowing a larger number of cruise ships to dock at Piraeus at any given time. Our strategic investor, COSCO has revealed its plans to construct deeper anchorage, so even the largest cruise ships in the world can dock and aims to more than double cruise arrivals up to 3 million passengers.

Through these efforts, we are creating the conditions to achieve continuous growth of our tourism in all coming years, as a vital sector and a top government priority leading to the growth of our national economy. We are working towards further promoting our unique identity and all the exciting new changes in our tourist product as well as the high quality and diversity that we offer, and enhance our competitiveness.

GREECE, THIS SMALL PIECE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH BELONGS TO THE TOP GLOBAL DESTINATIONS.

WE INVITE YOU ALL TO VISIT AND REVISIT GREECE, AND GET A GRASP OF WHAT TRULY THIS GLOBAL DESTINATION, WITH ITS POWERFUL BRAND VALUE, CAN OFFER TO YOU ALL YEAR ROUND.

Thank you.

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