Back from the brink
Greece’s deputy minister of tourism and culture, George Nikitiades, spoke to Routes News about the country’s aim to attract more LCCs to its sunny shores.
How many international tourists did Greece welcome in 2010?
According to offi cial fi gures, we had about 14 million tourists visiting Greece last year, with the overwhelming majority coming from other European countries.
How many tourists do you forecast for 2011?
At the start of the year we began a series of contracts with major travel agencies, educating and updating them on the new government’s tourism strategy. As a result of these efforts, we are cautiously optimistic that 2011 will be a better year for tourism than 2010. Notwithstanding a serious, unforeseen event, we believe there will be a signifi cant increase in tourist arrivals and receipts in 2011.
How has the Greek fi nancial crisis affected tourism in the country? Our country’s economic crisis affected the whole of Greece, as well as our tourism industry. Arrival fi gures in 2010 remained about the same as 2009 levels, but tourism operators experienced a reduction in revenue and were forced to reduce their prices.
What are the greatest challenges facing airlines in Greece? Greece is a sunny and safe destination that can welcome and accommodate visitors throughout the year. This is a major opportunity for airlines who want to increase their passenger potential
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and transport visitors to attractive destinations 52 weeks per year.
Why has airline competition in Greece been so limited in the past? Until 18 months ago Olympic Air was a national monopoly. Then, Olympic Airways was privatised and Aegean was integrated and now the situation has changed. This grouping does not affect the competition of airlines from abroad to Greece and I would say that there is clear and healthy competition in the market.
What is Greece doing in order to make the country more airline-friendly and accessible for tourists? We introduced a law to the Hellenic Parliament for the development of 34 regional airports in the country through mixed corporate formats. The aim is to upgrade facilities and to offer quality service throughout the country’s airports, something that we were previously unable to do due to a lack of public funds. This is a major change for airports and it is hoped that having private companies in the airline development process will help to spread economic benefi ts and results.
How important to Greece’s tourism strategy is attracting more low-cost airlines?
Communicating with low-cost carriers is already part of our strategy, which is aimed at hosting visitors to the country for all 52 weeks a year. This will negate
seasonality issues and will benefi t the country’s whole economy.
How signifi cant was Ryanair’s entry into the Greek market? Of course, this was very important for us, as Ryanair is the largest low-cost airline in Europe, serving 70 million passengers in 2010. Ryanair
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