Greek Presidency’s priorities on tourism, focus on sea and coastal tourism

Sea and coastal tourism is crucial for the national economies of many country-members, as last year more than 6 million of Europeans went on a cruise, while 3.5 million tourists visited the Mediterranean.
The contribution of the sea tourism industry to the EU’s real economy is very important. Each year it generates 38 billion euros and 327,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Greece’s Tourism

Ministry is closely watching the Commission’s initiative to set up a European strategy regarding the challenges and the opportunities of Sea and Coastal Tourism in the EU.
The Ministry will organize on March 14, 2014 a high-level meeting on sea and coastal tourism, to present the Commission’s announcement and discuss the challenges, the issues and the opportunities in sea tourism. This conference is expected to offer an active platform to top European officials from the tourism sector, so that they share their views and practices on coastal tourism, cruise tourism, the yachting, coastal management, marine clusters, the cooperation between the public and the private sector.
The aim of this conference is to promote the sustainable sea and coastal tourism in the EU at a time of intense competition from other regions of the world.
The Greek presidency will also focus on facilitating the visa regime for nationals of third countries, as it believes this will be highly beneficial for the European tourism industry, with increased tourism flows even before the start of the next spring season.
It will continue the negotiations on the revision of the directive on tour packages, aiming to review the existing regulatory framework on the industry of tour packages, so that travelers can buy them online. Its priorities also include the strengthening of the EU policy, aimed at promoting tourism, in a bid to maintain Europe’s position as a leading destination in the world and maximize the contribution of the tourism industry in growth and employment.
The second day of the Greek presidency’s conference on tourism, titled “Intense On-line Marketing and New Tools: Challenges and Perspectives”, is focused on the contribution of new technologies and the tools to present and promote tourism.

source: ΑΜΝΑ