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| Dimitri Avramopoulos, once
Mayor of Athens, took the post of Minister of
Tourism. |
What
policies is the government pursuing in order for
Greece to re-brand itself as a more sophisticated
leisure retreat for high-end tourists?
Avramopoulos: There
are great challenges in accomplishing what we hope
will be the new face of tourism in Greece. We need
to explore new ways to reach the satisfaction and
quality that is required in order to achieve a competitive
position in the global tourism market. We are changing
the global image of Greece.
One of the first actions towards upgrading the image
of Greece as a tourism destination is the complete
restructuring of our offices abroad. The Ministry
of Tourism will create new posts for tourism attachés,
attracting people with high qualifications. In addition,
our offices abroad will undergo significant upgrading
to demonstrate our commitment towards high quality
modern tourism services. We are introducing the
concept of ‘tourism diplomacy’.
We are investing in the Olympic legacy to communicate
to the world the modernization of our product and
the diversity of our services, not only in the traditional
markets but also in new developing markets.
Our promotional campaign is changing. In addition
to a massive campaign once a year, we are launching
several targeted complementary campaigns, which
will focus on special groups such as business tourists.
Some of our major events and exhibitions will rely
more and more on secondary advertisement. This year
we will invest almost ten times more than investments
in similar projects in the past.
Greece’s
Tourism Development Co. has a portfolio numbering
over 350 assets, including business units, marinas,
hotels, natural springs, golf centers and undeveloped
sites. How can the government encourage foreign
investment and development of these sites?
Avramopoulos:
It is important to create new investment opportunities
for the local and international business community
by simplifying procedures and developing incentives
for top quality projects.
We will institute policies and programs designed
to upgrade existing facilities and properties and
attract investor attention to a wide variety of
new projects. In addition, we will diversify tourist
products so that a host of alternative, high-quality
tourist options become part of the national tourist
identity. We already have a lot of investor interest
in developing tourist complexes such as spas, golf
course facilities, etc. This is the type of integrated
development we are looking for.
Sustainability of the tourist product is one of
our major priorities as well. Promoting sustainable
tourism development through the conservation of
natural resources, modernization of the tourist
infrastructure and use of human capital and new
technologies are major issues that are being addressed.
Partnerships and promotional or educational activities
coupled with financial benefits aid us in doing
this.
The government’s
new Development Law contains a chapter on Tourism
Development. What are the key strands of this and
how will it aid in the qualitative upgrading of
the country’s tourism product?
Avramopoulos:
Our new strategic plan focuses on improving the
shortfalls in Greece’s infrastructure and on
the prospects of tourism in the post-Olympic era.
Our strategy is three-fold. Firstly, we aim to promote
Greek tourism abroad following a well-coordinated
advertising campaign. Secondly, we will educate
and train tourism sector employees, mainly those
who work at the hundreds of small companies. And
finally, we seek to improve the quality of the Greek
tourist product with emphasis on infrastructure
development and services as well as protection of
the environment and the application of safety and
hygiene rules.
To this end, we are in the process of developing
a 10-year strategy. We are investing in our future
carefully, effectively, with strategic planning,
consulting all our partners. We want to create a
friendlier and more customer-oriented environment.
Our primary aim is to diversify and enrich the sector.
Diversification means that attractions will extend
beyond the traditional ‘sun, sea, and sand’
formula. Greece’s temperate and diverse climate
easily permits activities throughout the year.
Some of the most important additional advantages
to Greece’s tourist potential are the recent
widespread infrastructure improvements in accommodation
and services. National highways, airports, ports,
bridges and telecommunications facilities support
the increasingly complex and diverse needs of today’s
demanding travelers.
For many years catering to ‘sun, sea and sand’
seekers was our core competency, which of course
was fine for the early period of infancy but now
tourism has developed into a major sector. A framework
of guidance needs to be set, a system of rules and
principles, which are at the core of the strategy
plus a system of monitoring so that progress may
be reviewed. This is what we are trying to develop,
and we hope to achieve results in the short to medium
term. We hope that within five years we will have
a major impact on the tourism product itself. We
have already had a head start. Due to the Olympic
Games there has been considerable private investment
in modernizing accommodation as well as services
and infrastructure. In this sense, a lot has been
accomplished. What now needs to be done is to modernize
the operating system of the tourism sector and a
lot of effort has been invested in that respect.
What
policies is the government pursuing to wean Greece
of its seasonal dependency on tourism? How important
is foreign investment in realizing this?
Avramopoulos:
Our goal is to achieve year-round tourism. Defining
a vision for Greece and a value proposition for
key destinations is a key element in developing
an effective strategy for the future. The vision
should be a compelling and elaborate description
of the ideal outcome that all stakeholders share
and agree upon. The vision should then be worked
into explicit and measurable targets that can be
broken down into key performance indicators such
as number of foreign tourists, average length of
stay and average spending per day.
The next step is to determine an appropriate value
proposition to reach the targets, for Greece as
a whole, but also for the prioritized destinations.
In this context, a very clear definition of the
tourism product should be developed, taking into
account both the intrinsic assets (nature, culture
and climate) as well as any potential "add-on"
themes, such as archaeology, that could be selected
for development, in order to attract specific customer
segments. "Product development" should
also include the appropriate tourism infrastructure
in accommodation, logistics and anything else that
could support the destination’s assets. Once
the tourism product is clarified, the appropriate
placement channels and tactics should be determined,
according to the target customer segments that need
to be reached.
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Greece 
