From 31 May to 2 June, the 68th Session of the Regional Commission for Europe of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was held in Sofia (Bulgaria). The Greek delegation was headed by the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development, Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou, who chaired the proceedings of the Summit and addressed the participants from the 39 participating European countries the Communications of the Chair.
“Within this framework, I firmly believe it is now the right moment to discuss and reach an agreement on the issue of a specific Agenda for Europe, the strongest Region of the UNWTO, with a specific budget drawn from the UNWTO regular budget (membership contributions) to meet the Agenda’s objectives and its Action Plan, which will be the outcome of our collective work. The Agenda for Europe will be in tune with the UNWTO Strategic Objectives and Programmatic Priorities, to achieve the highest standards of performance in tourism policy elaboration and governance at European level.
An Agenda for Europe is what we need at this specific moment to return value to the members of the Region of Europe, implement projects that will directly benefit them (related, for example, to capacity building, special interest tourism, talent empowerment, DMOs, etc) while simultaneously supporting less privileged areas of the region and attracting new members. The structure of the Agenda, eventually upon the model of the Agenda for Africa, will come as an outcome of consultations among us”, said the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development.
A prominent place in the work of the Synod was the elections for the statutes and subsidiary bodies of the Regional Committee. Greece had run for one of the two Vice-Presidency posts of the Regional Committee and fully achieved its goal by being elected first with 27 votes, compared to 24 votes for Hungary.
Also, Greece’s initiatives unanimously accepted the “Agenda for Europe”, which had been proposed as a set of guiding principles by the Greek Presidency during the 66th Session and has been pending since then.
Furthermore, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development, Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou had a very constructive meeting with the Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria, Mr. Ilin Dimitrov, with whom they explored ways to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries through targeted initiatives in the field of tourism.
It is noted that the two countries cooperate within the framework of the EU, as well as other international organizations. Greece’s cultural ties with Bulgaria are particularly remarkable.
During the meeting, Mrs. Anastasopoulou and Mr. Dimitrov identified significant opportunities for the development of tourist traffic between the two countries and confirmed their intention to work for the further strengthening and deepening of bilateral tourism relations and the upgrading of the institutional framework of cooperation.
In particular, emphasis was placed on thematic areas such as maritime tourism and cruises, as well as film and medical tourism.
Moreover, both focused on exchanging good practices and know-how in the fields of winter, health and wellness tourism respectively.
In addition, the signing of a joint action plan that will seal the excellent cooperation between the two countries was discussed.
Earlier on, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development, Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou, during the 68th Session of the Regional Commission for Europe of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), gave an interview to Mrs. Veronica Denizova for Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
“Greece is one of the most popular destinations for summer holidays, but it also offers attractive proposals for thematic tourism throughout the year,” the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development suggested.
“Its competitive advantages, such as (a) the rich cultural heritage, (b) the natural beauty of the place and (c) the geographical diversity, have attracted significant investments in the tourism sector in recent years, enhancing Greece’s image on the one hand (i) as a world-class tourist destination and on the other hand (ii) as a tourism market with excellent investment opportunities”, Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou noted.
“We focus already (a) on high international competitiveness, through qualitative reconstruction (i.e. diversification and enrichment of the tourism product, as well as (b) the effective operation of the tourism industry in the context of sustainable and sustainable tourism development”, underlined the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development.
“This year is the great opportunity for our country in its effort to balance all the tourism trends that “choose” our country. Because yes, we need high-end visitors, as they significantly boost our revenue, but we also need all-inclusive tourists, because they offer jobs and increased turnover” , said Mrs Olympia Anastasopoulou.
Additionally, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development, gave an interview to Mr. Merim Tenev for the Bulgarian National Radio – BNR.
“The great comeback of Greek tourism has succeeded through specific strategies, actions and initiatives undertaken seriously and methodically by the Greek State”, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development noted.
“Yes, (a) we extended the tourist season, (b) we placed great emphasis on the diversification of our tourism product by overcoming the classic model “sea and sun”, (c) we promoted special and alternative forms of tourism, (d) we accelerated and simplified the procedures of tourism investments, (e) we increased revenues in catering and trade, (f) we strengthened Greeks with the Domestic Tourism Programs and finally (g) we managed the largest recovery in tourism throughout Europe”, Mrs Olympia Anastasopoulou underlined.
“After the dynamic course of 2022, everything seems to converge that Greek tourism has the guarantees to achieve even higher returns in 2023. Indicatively, already in the international exhibitions that have taken place, the messages for the Greek tourism ecosystem have been satisfactory, with airlines and tour operators expressing interest, and some of them even proceeding to the strengthening of flight programs and holiday packages for our country”, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development pointed out.
“The main objective of the Greek State for the period 2023-2024 is to strengthen the country’s tourism recovery that occurred in 2022, taking into account the challenges from the gradual return to normality, the crisis in Ukraine and the growing need for the adoption of sustainable practices,” Mrs Olympia Anastasopoulou mentioned.
“Specifically, the national tourism policy is based on improving the competitiveness, quality, authenticity, durability and sustainability of the tourism product and at the same time on strengthening tourism investments with a low environmental footprint”, the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development suggested.
“Greek tourism, while being called upon to align its model with the digital operation and the ecological model, has, in addition to a State that is constantly modernizing the state, various additional supplies, such as:
– The Greek brand is in the top five worldwide,
– is highly dispersed in its markets,
– moves within the incomparable natural and cultural landscape of our country, the utilization of which constitutes a unique comparative advantage”, said Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou.
