Yanos Gramatidis - Honorary President, American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce Partner, Bahas, Gramatidis & Partners Law Firm, Distinguished Fellow, Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils

REDESIGNING POLICIES FOR TOURISM

Tourism is at the epicentre of growth as a major
export sector: export of beautiful remembrances of sites, archaeological areas, experiences, food etc. In combination with the sun and sea, Greek tourism has a clear competitive advantage and it can be combined with the growth of other sectors securing strong synergies.

This fact, the needs to extend the touristic season to 12 months, to support special kinds of tourism as i.e. medical, educational, religious, underwater, gastronomic and conventions tourism, together with the comparative geographical advantages of Greece should make tourism become one of the axes of a new long term strategy for growth focusing focus not any more on the numbers but on the quality of the arrivals and the size of visitors’ consumption.

Indicative actions needed:

  • Completion of the spatial planning of the country
  • Provision of tax and subsidy incentives for the creation of clusters per area
  • Provision of incentives for the creation of branded chains as i.e. all inclusive, boutique etc
  • Opening of new touristic destinations through the system of grants for infrastructure
  • Targeted marketing per destination depending on the particular characteristics of each place
  • Introduction of a special non-taxable reserve for reinvestment of profits in  touristic infrastructures
  • Easing procedures for the issue of visa for countries of priority as i.e. China and Russia 
  • Creation of best practices for the introduction of relevant trademarks, certification and intense control on all above by independent authorities
  • Improvement of policies and measures to reinforce the growth of city-breaks especially for Athens and Thessaloniki
  • Compensatory measures for the facing the high VAT through tax discounts
  • Emphasis should be given to the connection of tourism with culture, classical inheritance and traditional professions and products.

 

It is self understood that tourism should be the main subject and basic axe of a new National Strategic Plan. In this frame the intended increase of arrivals and revenues from inbound and internal tourism in Greece shall be mainly determined by the enrichment and the differentiation of the touristic product, as well as by the increase rhythm of the offer of internationally competitive services in the global market.

The explosion of touristic activity expected after the pandemic should mobilise all state authorities involved to design and implement measures that would magnify the growth  of tourism taking advantage of this unique opportunity.

 

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