Kountoura at Dubai ATM 2016: Greece expects record year for arrivals

Greece’s tourism minister expects tourist arrivals to the European country to grow by 15-20 per cent in 2016.

Last year, there were 26.5 million arrivals to Greece, up from 22 million in 2014, despite the economic problems the country faced and the thousands of refugees that arrived on its shores.

This year “is definitely going to be a good year” for tourism in Greece, Elena Kountoura , the country’s minister of tourism, said in an interview at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai on Monday, as part of her ministry’s strategy to reach out to promising new markets in the Middle East.

During her visit, Minister Kountoura met with United Arab Emirates (UAE) government officials, tourism sector professionals and entrepreneurs to boost investment interest as well as discuss ways to enhance tourism flow to Greece. 

She met with Minister of State and Expo 2020 Dubai chief Reem Al Hashimy, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Majid Al Ghurair Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) CEO Mohammed Al Shaibani, and Emirates Airlines president & CEO Sheikh Ahmedbin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Value for money

Tourism in a major sector in Greece. It represents 20 per cent of the country’s GDP [gross domestic product], Kountoura said. The country’s tourism revenues reached €14.5 billion (Dh60.27 billion) in 2015.

The growth in arrivals will be driven in part by new tourism offerings and promotional campaigns in international markets, she added.

“We implemented a new strategy. We have prolonged the [tourism] season. It starts in [early] April when normally before it started end of April and now it ends late November. We have also developed new products: thematic tourism, cruise tourism and medical tourism,” she noted.

Greece offers value for money, which is a major draw for visitors, the Minister stressed.

“We are the best deal, we are value for money. We are in Europe but at the same time we have prices that are affordable for every visitor,” she said.

The refugee crisis 

Kountoura said the refugee crisis has not impacted tourism to Greece.

“We faced [it] right away and we did our duty. When we had this crisis last year, we managed to make sure that all the centers received the people that need accommodation,” she said.

More than a million refugees fled to Europe by sea in 2015, mainly to Greece and Italy, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Kountoura hopes tourist arrivals to Greece to grow by at least 10-15 per cent annually in the next three to four years.

“If we prolong the [tourism] season and things are going well in the neighborhood, I think the coming years will be much better. I would wish to have each year a minimum increase of 10-15 per cent,” she said.

Demand to build hotels 

In the first quarter of this year, tourist arrivals to Greece rose 17.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2015, Kountoura said, adding that she expects a 15-20 per cent growth year-on-year in the second quarter. She anticipates arrivals from the GCC , which increased by around 22 per cent year-on-year in 2015, to double this year.

There is demand from developers to build hotels in Greece, Kountoura said.

“This year, we have 160 applications for the development of four- and five-star hotels,” she said, adding that the government will announce incentives to build hotels. “The ministry of economy, development and tourism already has a new law that will give some incentives to investors. That is coming next month,” she said, without disclosing details.

According to SETE Intelligence data, the number of arrivals from the UAE to Greece last year increased by 33 percent.

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