Tourism promotion the GNTO way
Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos (center) at an exhibition in Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, of posters used by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) over its 60-year history. Sources said yesterday funds spent on promoting Greece abroad have risen since the Athens 2004 Olympic Games but have dropped off so far this year. Between 2005 and 2007, the annual advertising budget ranged from 46 to 53 million euros. But so far this year the government has spent only 37 million euros on attracting visitors. The budgets are considered to be markedly lower than those at the disposal of Greece’s main competitors, such as Turkey and Spain.