High-level conference on coastal and maritime tourism in Athens

he implementation of the Blue Growth Agenda focusing, among others, on coastal and maritime tourism of EU member-states will play a decisive role in the creation of more jobs in Europe and Greece, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said on Monday.
Speaking in the opening day of the High Level Conference on Coastal and Maritime Tourism, organized by the ministry of tourism in the context of the Greek EU Presidency, she noted that tourism is a “key” to exiting the crisis.

Kefalogianni underlined that tourism corresponds to 10 pct of Europe's GDP and, referring to the conference topic, said that the blue growth agenda creates the conditions for creating new jobs, while coastal and maritime tourism will play an important role in this direction.
Addressing the conference, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Maria Damanaki underlined that coastal and maritime tourism is the “backbone” of the coastal economy with roughly 3 million jobs, adding that 4 out of 9 travelers choose these regions for their vacations.
“We are in a new more hopeful phase,” she said, noting that “Europe is reacting to the economic crisis and appears determined to preserve its conquests and single currency”.

She referred to the permanent support mechanism for the single currency, adding that a total of 700 billion euros have been used for this purpose. Damanaki also underlined that the EU can be proud because it has achieved the biggest mobilisation in its history aimed at rescuing member-states.
Outlining future EU goals, Damanaki said that the “mother of all battles” for the EU will be waged in the sector employment “with 26 million unemployed in Europe and 1.3 million unemployed in Greece”.

As regards coastal and maritime tourism, Damanaki said that most problems are the result of the sector's fragmentation, which is comprised mainly of SMEs, lack of skills and difficulties in obtaining access to financing.

According to Damanaki, the EU effort for the implementation of the blue agenda includes, among others, a total of 14 actions aimed at improving competitiveness, better access to information, better communication between companies and the state, etc.
Using as an example the Medes Islands in Spain, Damanaki noted that “we should turn to alternative forms of tourism (fishing, diving, yachting, marine protected areas) to increase tourism income in coastal regions and reduce seasonal employment”.

She underlined that the EU finances those who take care of the natural environment and keep the coasts clean of plastics and pollutants. Also, SMEs can utilise the 150-million-euro EU support programme COSME, while the 325-billion-euro regional cohesion policy also includes tourism-sector actions.
Speaking at the conference, World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Taleb Rifai referred to Greece using flattering words and noted that traveling is better represented in Greece than in any other country. He also underlined the importance of the tourism sector in Europe's economic growth.
In 2013, roughly 1.08 billion people traveled worldwide and half of them chose Europe as their holiday destination, he said, adding that the EU coastline is roughly 70,000km long, with Greece coming second after Norway in terms of coastline length.

In a taped message, European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani noted that coastal and maritime tourism is a priority for the EU, stressing that “we should cooperate and ensure that our coasts will be competitive”.