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“Now we have to raise the quality even more”<\/p>\n
August – holiday month, the city is almost “empty”. In the building of Amalias Street, on the 6th floor, the new Minister of Tourism, Mr. Harris Theocharis, was there until late afternoon to accept his successive appointments, one of which was with GR Traveller. He greeted us with a friendly attitude and ready to answer our questions. He told us about his dream for Greek tourism and how the ministry will create the right environment for innovation to flourish in the sector. Opening to the five senses and improvement
\nthe overall experience of the traveller. Authenticity and further improvement of the quality of the tourism product. Supporting domestic tourism and destinations to extend the tourist season. Sustainable development and innovation. The portfolio of the new Minister of Tourism is particularly rich in issues that he has “inherited” from his predecessors and in the objectives that he and his staff have set for the future of the sector. Although a newcomer to tourism, already in the first month of his term of office
\ndemonstrated preparedness in dealing with emergencies. So, we are looking forward to the continuation.<\/p>\n
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What is your dream for Greek tourism in the next four years?<\/strong><\/p>\n Greek tourism must first of all be shielded. We don’t know how the external environment will shape up in the coming period, while in terms of the economic situation of the other countries, the “clouds” are gathering. Therefore, we should prepare ourselves so that Greek tourism is attractive and attracts good quality people, From a traveller’s perspective, what do you think should change in Greek destinations in order to improve the traveller’s experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n First and foremost, infrastructure. We have grown very fast in tourism in the past few years. There was an “explosion”, which was not followed by the infrastructure. Secondly, to maintain authenticity. We should not allow a return to a model of easy profit. We were like that before the crisis and we were providing a tourism product that gave less value than it actually cost. With the crisis we moved a lot towards reducing costs and a lot towards improving authenticity and quality. Now we have to raise the quality even more. To show, for example, what an experience in Meteora, in a ski resort, in a monastery in Epirus, extreme sports and of course our unparalleled summer on the islands means – but because this is already known, our cities and our countryside that are not known should be revealed to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n Environmental and social sensitivity is one of the five pillars of the Ministry of Tourism’s strategic plan for tourism businesses and infrastructure. Alongside these actions, do you believe that we should also “prepare” socially responsible travellers?<\/strong><\/p>\n As far as domestic tourism is concerned, we have the responsibility to prepare them. As far as foreign tourism is concerned, it is obviously the responsibility of other countries’ education systems and public debate. At this point I should stress that some countries are ahead of us in this issue and as long as we are not at the same point in terms of supply we will lose them in terms of tourists. So, the issue of the so-called triple bottom line: economic, environmental and social sustainability for each individual destination and for the country as a whole, as far as our tourism product is concerned. Initially this may have to be done as a responsibility for our children, but then it will increasingly make economic sense, otherwise tourists with environmental awareness and sensitivity will not visit Greek destinations. So, to be more specific, tourism education and education in general must also have this objective. After we have completed the reform that needs to be done in tourism education for tourism professionals You have introduced several innovations in the public sector from the positions you have served, such as the electronic issuance of road tax. Similarly, what innovations to expect <\/strong>in tourism?<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n In tourism, the key innovation we need to introduce is to give data to the whole world of tourism. To do this we must first collect them. Because unfortunately, at the present time, the data in our country is lacking. We are making tourism policy and we do not have reliable data and if we want to make sustainable tourism development we must have the corresponding data. That is, to observe the carrying capacity of an island, say Santorini, you have to collect data related to how many accommodations there are, how many permanent residents and how many residents there are during peak periods, how many people go down to the port every day, what your water and electricity consumption is, how much plastic, how much garbage, solid waste, sewage and a number of other data. Things that are not usually recorded, and other things that are recorded but not given away so that they can be collected to track the tourist footprint. This kind of data will allow, firstly, to make tourism policy based on it and, secondly, to allow innovation to flourish. That is, through the provision of this open data, an innovation in tourism that comes from private initiative, which will create things that we cannot imagine, since it has this kind of potential. In a long-term planning, there are so many things that can be done in terms of innovation. For example, so that a tourist can learn more information or, in a difficult moment, even get legal support. That is, general issues that innovative services in tourism should have, in order to provide a more comprehensive Many of the country’s destinations rely on domestic tourism. Will Greeks be given incentives to travel more within the country?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the issues I need to discuss with my counterparts is whether what we call social tourism can exist as a policy tool. In my view, it is a useful tool both for social reasons, of course, but also, above all, for demand creation. When you want to create or support a destination that is not yet developed, a new product, the extension of the tourist season. So, when we have done an analysis of the current situation or the market itself sees that it is close to being able to set up a new product or in low demand periods, we can use these kinds of social benefits. At the same time, to support the demand for new such products and therefore reduce the risk so that it can be launched – the beginning is always difficult for a product – and become attractive even for tourists from abroad.<\/p>\n What actions do you plan to implement to “shield” Greek tourism and improve its competitiveness?<\/strong><\/p>\n The actions already announced by the government as a whole relate first to tackling over-taxation. The measures that will be taken in the coming period to reduce excessive taxation will directly improve the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product. Let us not forget that tourism is a competitive product at international level and therefore we cannot be out of the market through excessive taxation. The second is to improve quality and safety. Already moves are being made by the Ministry of Citizen Protection and by us in this direction. The recent events with swimming pools have accentuated the need to increase controls to give Interview with Panagiota Surtzi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Now we have to raise the quality even more” August – holiday month, the city is almost “empty”. In the building of Amalias Street, on the 6th floor, the new Minister of Tourism, Mr. Harris Theocharis, was there until late afternoon to accept his successive appointments, one of which was with GR Traveller. 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\nwho is happy with his stay in Greece and becomes the ambassador of our country. This means beautiful experiences, opening to the five senses, value for money and a magnet for you and your friends to come back.<\/p>\n
\nspace – which is our first priority – then we will look at issues of wider tourism awareness.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Athens_OlympeionTempleOfOlympianZeus_2604_photo_YSkoulas-1.jpg\")
\na feeling of security, an overall improved experience and increase our country’s ability to attract people or better quality tourists again and again. So there are many innovations to be made. The role of the state is not necessarily to create them but to create the environment in which all of them can flourish.<\/p>\n
\na feeling of security. The third is the effort that we will make in the coming period to record infrastructure deficiencies in order to push for their improvement. We have already spoken to the Ministry of Transport about the issues of delays at airports and we are looking at resolving other issues. The creation of the 10-year strategic plan for tourism will allow for better planning between supply, demand and infrastructure, the improvement of which must be synchronized in order for the country’s level of development, and in this case tourism development, to be sustainable and strong.<\/p>\n