With keynote speaker Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, held on Thursday evening, 28/10, the opening of the annual Conference of the Association of German Tour Operators (DRV), organised in Costa Navarino, Messinia.
At the opening ceremony, Mr Kikilias was awarded by the German organisers for his excellent response to the pandemic as Minister of Health, for the health protocols implemented by Greece, the sense of security inspired in its visitors, and the exemplary way in which the protocols were implemented by tourism professionals.
In his speech, Mr.Kikilias welcomed the participants and thanked DRV for choosing Greece as the host country of the Conference and congratulated the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, Dimitris Fragakis, HATTA/FedHATTA and the Peloponnese Region for this success.
As he pointed out, Greek tourism, demonstrating remarkable resilience, managed this year to surpass the 50% target for 2019.
The Minister of Tourism said that the 2022 tourist season will start in mid-March and urged Germans to discover new destinations in mainland and island Greece, which may not have been particularly well known until now, but offer an authentic tourist experience.
He made it clear that Greece's strategy is to be at the forefront of sustainable tourism and to become a model of sustainable tourism development and stressed to German tourism professionals that our country is ready to capitalize on the positive climate of this year's tourist season and is already preparing the ground for Greece's upward trend in 2022 in Europe's largest tourist market.
In his statements to the media, the Minister of Tourism stressed that the selection of Greece and the participation of more than 450 German tourism professionals, «mark the hard work we are doing this autumn and winter in order to reap the rewards for the next summer season and to support the Greek economy. This has already been done to a significant extent in 2021 and we look forward to doing it more strongly in 2022.».
Mr.Kikilias made a special reference to the holding of the Conference in Messinia, noting that «several years ago, this region was not the first tourist destination. With the vision and effort of Captain Vassilis Konstantakopoulos and the continuation of his family, we see that in the area of Pylos, but also more widely in Messinia, tourism develops for at least ten months a year, with multiple activities.».
«The level of tourism is high and that means great incomes for the region. It is also an example of how we want to strategically direct Greek tourism, which is the engine of the Greek economy. Our goal is to develop tourism twelve months a year in all Greek regions», concluded the Minister of Tourism.
For his part, the General Secretary of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) stated that «the annual conference of German tour operators is an important event for us for two reasons: The first one because this conference is essentially the start of the major face-to-face meetings after 18 months. The second reason is that it is essentially a vote of confidence in Greek tourism», stressing that «this year, with a great effort and plan of the Government, we managed to open tourism in time and safely. We have also managed to ensure that the tourist season, which in many areas of the country continues unhindered, continues uninterrupted.».
Addressing German tour operators, he pointed out that «Greece is more than just an ideal holiday destination. As you will see, it is the right place to shape the future of tourism, both for visitors and for local communities.» «We are investing heavily in the digital transformation of tourism services, in sustainable tourism development and in the variety of choices and experiences that our visitors of all ages from all over the world can have,» he concluded.
The DRV Conference is organized for the first time after 71 years in Greece, co-organized by the Hellenic Tourism Organization, the Association of Greek Tourist and Travel Agencies and the Federation of Greek Associations of Travel and Tourism Agencies (HATTA/FedHATTA) and is one of the most important tourism events worldwide. More than 450 tour operators, travel agents, representatives of internet companies, as well as tourism editors from the major German media, are physically present and a large number of online participants are participating.
