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:
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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Konstantinos Alexopoulos has been a professional in the Greek hospitality industry for two decades with extensive experience in hotel
management, operation and consulting. He is the CEO of Domotel Hotels & Resorts Group, which has a history of more than 15 years in its current form and a heritage in the hospitality sector which began in 1964. Additionally, he holds the position of CEO at DHR Services,
supporting hospitality brands through his extensive know-how in the industry; both positions are reinforced by his ten years of experience in the construction sector in Greece and the Balkans, which furthered his knowledge of local markets. Having completed his Degree as a Civil Engineer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, he continued with a Master in Science in “Construction Economics and Management” in UCL and a Master of Arts in Hospitality Management in Middlesex University. Furthermore, he has attended two complementary training programs in finance and management at the University of Macedonia. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greek Tourism Enterprises Confederation (SETE) and the treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Institute of SETE, a member of the Leadership Committee of the Hellenic – American Chamber of Commerce and holds positions in a number of Boards of Directors of other organizations.
After completing her Bachelor in Business Administration (Minor in Science and Economy) at the American College of Thessaloniki, she continued with an MBA in Hospitality Marketing at Les Roches School of Hotel Management in Switzerland and a Diploma of Higher Education in International Tourism “The French approach” from the Universite Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne. She has been running the family owned hotel for almost twenty years, initially as an Operations Manager and later on as General Manager and CEO. She has been a member of the Board of Directors in Thessaloniki’s Hotels Association and has participated as a guest speaker in several lectures and seminars such as Yield Managementin Les Roches (Bluche, Switzerland), and Operations Management Principles and Housekeeping Principles in CMH (Paris, France).