The Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mrs Angela Gerekou during the inauguration of EOT in the tourism exhibition BIT,in Milan, noted:
"It is my great pleasure and honor to represent Greece at the International Tourism Exchange, one of the most important tourism fairs worldwide. And it gives me great pleasure because I have once again the opportunity to stand between investors and professionals in the tourism sector, people with whom we work to find a way out of economic crisis. And I am sure that both you, with the professionalism shown and we, with a range of institutional interventions, will do it. No one disputes that the global economic krisis has not left our country unaffected. For us, this is definitely something we should deal, but it is also the opportunity we have to turn the page in the future.
It is an opportunity to change the way on which the state faces the issue of tourism: a field in which we have to invest, to develop and further increase its capabilities. It represents a goal and challenge for us, each visitor to our country to be able to live an integrated experience and be able to experience the limitless possibilities offered by Greece.
Greece is certainly "sun and sea" but certainly much more. It is the astonishing beauty of its hinterland, climate and gastronomic tradition, history and culture. It is a goal and challenge for us the creation of new "direct causes" in order one to visit our country. The New Acropolis Museum, the vision of Melina Mercouri, is already a reality and the first months of its operation, it has welcomed more than a half million visitors. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is designed specifically to create more and such other "reasons" on which someone has to visit Greece, in addition to its natural beauty: new facilities for cultural events, enhancement of archaeological sites, festivals, exhibitions, concerts, sports events of global concern - all these are in our immediate planning.
It is a target for us, Greece to become a successful business center of the Mediterranean as a qualitive green destination. All forms of alternative tourism will be enhanced preferentially and in the same way will be strengthened and the business initiatives that will be developed based on environmental protection.
From this step we invite you to this new, promising journey. I urge you to invest in Greece, I invite you to visit us. I urge you to live the experience called Greece. You are all welcome in the country of dream, in the country of light and harmony, in the country of art and beauty... "
Source : Tourism and Property magazine
Source : Tourism and Property magazine
