Gaza conflict will not greatly impact Greek tourism, says PM Mitsotakis

Just as the war in Ukraine had has a limited impact on Greece’s tourism sector, which had no problem handling the loss of visitors from Russia, the impact of the conflict in Gaza will be similarly limited, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday.

“I consider that our tourism is resilient, we have laid the foundations for a new tourist product, which must be based on quality, sustainability and resilience and especially on the unique experiences that we can offer and our ability to attract visitors who are able to spend more of their income in Greece,” he added.

“Greek tourism proved to be exceptionally resilient. I must say that after the pandemic, what we saw as a global trend and I think will continue is people’s need to travel more. And in choosing between spending their money on buying a product or the experience of travel, many chose the second option. I think this is a trend that has come to stay,” Mitsotakis stressed addressing a panel discussion at a conference organized by the newspaper “banksnews Thema” at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC).

He added, it was a mistake to use the number of visitors as a measure of the tourism sector’s success, noting that the primary goal was the economic footprint of these visitors, where Greece had made significant progress.

He also emphasised the importance of remaining competitive and ensuring sustainability, better exploiting the country’s cultural capital and ensuring accessibility.

ble urban mobility plan was needed for the entire Attic basin.