Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises

The tourism industry has the ability to contribute 43 billion euros to Greece’s GDP by 2021, creating 1 million new jobs directly or indirectly linked to the industry, according to data presented at a conference organised by Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Tuesday.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) on Thursday announced that 2015 expected to witness the arrivals of roughly 26 million tourists and related tourism revenue worth more than 14.5 billion euros, both record-breaking figures.

A “cloud” over Greece’s all-important tourism sector is quickly turning into a midsummer’s “squall” due to capital controls, closed banks and political uncertainty reaching unprecedented post-war levels.

By Stathis Kousounis

The prolonged uncertainty regarding the Greek economy, which is not seen disappearing before Athens reaches an agreement with the country?s creditors, is taking its toll on the short-term prospects of Greek tourism, according to the sector?s professionals.

A déjà vu feeling brings back memories of 2012 as a number of major foreign tour operators are asking for drachma clauses to be included in contracts for the 2016 tourism season. Worried about the uncertainty in Greece, a number of operators want clauses to also contain clauses regarding a possible hotel tax hike, insisting that any additional taxes should be covered by hotels.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) has noted a worrying, downwards trend towards tourism reservations from both Germany and the UK, which made it reevaluate its goal of 25 million arrivals and 14 billion euros in income, as well as any rates of domestic tourism.

Google announced it's "Grow Greek TOurism Online" program, a project that aims to provide enterprises in Greek tourism with tools that can help boost their businesses over the summer season and beyond. The initiative has been taken to deal with the 70% increased demand for online vacation searches noted from June to September.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) said on Monday that it is confident Greece will meet its target of attracting 18.5 million visitors, generating 13 billion euros in revenues, this year.

By Stathis Kousounis

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) has set its target for this year’s tourist arrivals from abroad at 18.5-19 million and revenues at 13 billion euros, as bookings from foreign markets continue to show a strong rise.

By Eleni Chrepa

Greece's successful return to bond markets is the most recent in a series of "positive messages" for the economy that included the country posting a record year for tourism and forecasting an even stronger 2014, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said.