Five priorities for tourism
Infrastructure, destination management, investment and competitiveness, employment, and sustainability are the five central priorities for the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), according to what its president, Yiannis Paraschis, pointed out on Thursday during its 32nd Annual General Meeting, stressing that “the growth momentum of the strong Greece brand built in recent years shows significant resilience.”
The head of SETE appeared optimistic about this season’s performance, pointing out, however, that nothing is certain and the need for a significant effort from all involved to overcome the major challenges facing the sector.
“It is clear that the existing public infrastructures are not sufficient to meet the requirements as we move toward 2030,” he said, adding that “important preparatory work has already been done by SETE and our institute at the level of mapping and recording proposals – specialized for each region of the country – of which 50% refers to public infrastructures directly related to tourism, while another 20% refers to infrastructures of wider benefit,” he said, and described the utilization of European resources as a unique opportunity that the government and local authorities must use “to avoid an asymmetric and therefore unsustainable development between tourism flows, significant private investments and of the necessary infrastructure.”
He also underlined the need to improve the destination management system, recalling that SETE has presented the government with specific proposals for the development and operation of destination management organizations (DMOs), and highlighted the “This is Athens and Partners” cooperation model as a successful example. He even asked for the improvement of the legislative framework that governs the operation of DMOs or which needs a model change in order to include the substantial involvement of the private sector and local communities.
Regarding employment, he revealed that SETE is in talks with the relevant ministries regarding the necessary interventions in the labor market, improving working conditions, mitigating seasonality, with programs for attracting workers, training and the continuous improvement of skills, while improving the efficiency of institutionalized framework of transfers.
