With Places Like Mykonos & Santorini It’s Easy To Understand The Attraction
Unfortunately, PubClub.com won’t be among them but the GNTO predicts two million more people will visit Greece this year than in 2016 – a 7% increase – with 900,000 of those coming from the U.S. With places like Mykonos and Santorini, it’s easy to understand the attraction.
For the last two years, Greece’s growth has been nearly twice the global industry average of 3.9 percent, as reported by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in January 2017.
The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that tourism in 2017 will help boost the Greek economy by 6.9 percent, and will boost employment by 6.3 percent, supporting nearly 1 million jobs and representing 20% of the country’s GDP. One in five jobs created in Greece is related to the tourism sector. Tourism is essential to Greece’s effort for recovery and prosperity. Every 30 or more tourists visiting Greece, creates one new job for a Greek.
“We are very optimistic about the upcoming tourist season and our continued momentum,” said Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura. “Greece’s incomparable natural beauty, ancient history, vibrant urban culture and spirit of ‘philotimo’ make it one of the world’s most unique and desired year-round destinations.”
A distinctive and unique characteristic of Greece, “philotimo” represents a sacred honor, promise and the spirit of its people. The word, which has no real translation, conveys tolerance, open arms, and open-mindedness to all visitors, and transcends religion, race, color or creed. It invites travelers to experience Greece as family members and guests.
Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General, shared his full support of Greece and GNTO while visiting Athens earlier this year. “Greece is one of the most popular and attractive global destinations, which enhances its international appeal and continues to record high performance,” said Rifai. “Over the last two years, Greece has successfully addressed all
Challenges by implementing a new tourism policy focused on extending the travel season, promoting new thematic products, opening new markets, boosting connectivity, promoting new Greek destinations and attracting new tourism investments. The result is a major improvement of Greece’s image around the world.”
New flights and connections will make traveling to Greece easier in 2017, including daily year-round service by Emirates to Athens from Newark Liberty International Airport. Destinations such as Kos, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Kephalonia, Zakynthos, Aktio and Thessaloniki now have direct flights or connections to a larger number of European cities, as well as the U.S., China, India, Russia and Israel.
“We’re very pleased that Emirates has added daily service to Athens. The new route provides much needed year-round non-stop daily service between the U.S. and Greece,” said Greta Kamaterou, GNTO’s North American marketing director. “Combined with the most stable ports in the region for cruise ships, we’re very optimistic about 2017.”
The Greek National Tourism Organization’s development strategy includes increasing access via air, land and sea; increased focus on audience segmentation including: luxury, religious, cruises, yachting, diving, cultural tourism, adventure, LGBT and new international markets; and the use of new technology platforms and social media.
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