Spending cuts hit tourism campaigns
Posters promoting Greece as a tourist destination, such as this one in Paris, will be less common as the government cuts spending by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in an attempt to rein in its massive budget deficit. The GNTO said in a statement yesterday that its spending in the first half of the year was cut by 55 percent to 51.3 million euros. Along with renegotiating the cost of renting its two main premises in central Athens, GNTO has cut spending on office supplies, cleaning bills and phone expenses, it said. Further savings will arise from lowering the cost of participating in international travel exhibitions while also choosing its promotional campaigns more carefully. GNTO’s marketing campaigns abroad are seen as being crucial to supporting the tourism sector, which accounts for about 18 percent of the country’s economy.
