1. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr GREECE: A new approach to tourism development Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and Tourism Presentation by Christos Petreas, Scientific Advisor Cabinet of the Deputy Minister ROUTES MEDITERRANEAN EVENT Antalya – Turkey – February 2011 deputyminister@mintour.gr

2. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Tourism is important

3. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Tourism sector Tourism enterprisesNumber Hotel accommodation units~10 000 Rental accommodation units~40 000 Travel agents –agencies~ 4 000 Tourist buses~ 6 500 Car and moto rental companies~ 2 800 Motorcycle only rental companies~ 1 500 Tourism enterprises Hotel categories Dynamic,, active, progressive

4. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Seasonality of Greek tourism Arrivals Bed nights Traditionally Greece developed as a “sun – sea – sand” destination

5. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr New tourism strategy all year round all over Greece from all the world to the world tourism markets to reducing seasonality to spreading tourism geographically 17 ski resorts

6. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Strategy implementation The internet Specialized info material Restructuring Greece’s presence internationally The tourist’s experience: 9 clusters Athens every week Thessaloniki culture crossroads Looking through the glass floor of the Acropolis Museum

7. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Athens every week - project Cultural events Sports events Business events Conferences Exhibitions Special events

8. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Thessaloniki cultural crossroads 2011201220132014 Middle EastSouth-East EuropeChinaRussia

9. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Video

10. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr New “visitgreece” site From April – December 2010 : 955.000 visits 4.000.000 page views 375.000 foreign visitors 300.000 visitors from search engines

11. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr my-greece.gr

12. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr my-greece.gr upload your experience discover experiences The visitor – user can upload his/her own photo or video with a short description and selected tags

13. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Air transport – the facilities  46 airports  39 in operation (7 closed)  29 on islands – 10 on mainland  34 state – 4 municipal – 1 private (PPP)  Flight operational characteristics  15 international flights  14 mixed operation (international & domestic)  10 domestic flights

14. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Air transport – the numbers 70 scheduled airlines (conventional and low cost) 66 non-scheduled charter operators > 16 million total passengers ~ 10+ million international passengers ~ 6+ million domestic passengers

15. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Air transport – the operations CategoryNumberTraffic A1~36% B00 C7~51.5% D31~12.5% 17 island airports with international flights 9 island airports with domestic only

16. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Principal Greek airports

17. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Greece: tourism and air transport  directions for development of air transport:  attracting additional flight services  expanding the direct links with other airports  development of flights by low cost airlines  improvement of facilities

18. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Government support for tourism development (1) Support of tourism enterprises – i.e. reduction of VAT to 6.5% – Support of contributions for seasonal employment Legislative actions – Removal of cabotage for cruise industry – Support special interest tourism

19. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Government support for tourism development (2) Improve and expand facilities – Better services in cultural monuments and sites – New Athens Congress Center Attracting investments – New investment incentives law – Reducing bureaucratic procedures “fast track” law

20. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr …. in closing Greece and its tourism image are changing Tourism and its importance are recognized The government is here ready to assist

21. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM www.visitgreece.gr Greece and tourism Together …. since ancient times Let us not stop the flow of history Thank you Ministry of Culture and Tourism Presentation by Christos Petreas, Scientific Advisor Cabinet of the Deputy Minister deputyminister@mintour.gr