An online conference was held on the topic: “Problems and Prospects for the Tourism Industry in Greece - 2020 during the pandemic. Opportunities for tourists’ travel companies and hotels”.
When opening the event, the Vice President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Suren Vardanyan, noted that the tourism industry is one of the most affected ones by the pandemic. “Every country and each company is trying to find its own way to mitigate the problems that have arisen,” said the representative of the MCCI management. He said that now Greece has established an extremely liberal visa regime for Russians: currently one can get a multivisa without presenting tha proof of a plane ticket; all that is needed is the confirmation of a hotel reservation. “For Russian citizens, Greece has been and is a desirable place for a vacation,” noted Mr. Vardanyan. He suggested identifying all the problems that are now facing the travel industry in both Greece and Russia. He was supported by the Chairman of the MCCI Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in Greece, Mr. Konstantin Anastasiadi, who said that at the webinar, the business community, involved in tourism, can get answers on how to develop further, where to turn in this difficult situation.
Mr.Yuri Iliadi, the representative of the MCCI Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in Greece, stated that the Greek government has competently coped with the first stage of the pandemic. On July 15, Greece tried to launch a tourist season. However, now there is information about new cases of the disease in the country, and more than half of it involves foreigners, who came to Greece on vacation. As noted by the conference participants, the current tourist season will be short-lived, but it is necessary to think about how to deal with it further in order to develop new directions, new routes, conduct marketing campaigns in order to provide and promote services for tourists.
Ms. Inna Pekhova, the Vice-President of the National Tourist Union, said that the Russian tourist industry is preparing to open air links between Russia and Greece. At the same time, the expert noted that it is necessary to inform potential travelers, as well as travel agencies’ staff, about what changes have been introduced in the hospitality sector in Greece. In particular, as already mentioned, serious concessions have now been introduced in obtaining a visa, and the possibility of online registration at hotels has been introduced. The hours of check-in and check-out from the hotel have changed: now it is necessary to leave before 11 o'clock, and not until 12, as it was before; and it is now possible to make reservations after 15 hours. In addition, the rules for car rentals have changed: restrictions have been introduced on the number of people occupying a car.
Mr. Christos Pharmakis, the Minister Plenipotentiary of Trade and Economic Relations of the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in the Russian Federation, noted that due to the political situation in the world since 2016, the trade turnover between Russia and Greece has suffered greatly: it lost 50% of its exports to Russia. Supplies from Russia have also plummeted, and these have reached quite impressive figures - exports from Russia to Greece last year amounted to 3.8 billion USD.
At the same time, the Minister noted that the country is interested in the development of mutually beneficial relations and expressed hope that international exhibitions and business missions will be resumed soon, which will contribute to the development of positive bilateral economic relations. Mr. Pharmakis invited businessmen, wishing to enter the Greek market, to come to the embassy. "Our doors are always open for you", he remarked.
The Deputy Director of the Representation of the National Tourism Organization of Greece in Russia and the CIS countries, Mr. Nikolaos Stamatis, said that Greece is one of the safest countries for tourism in the current situation. "The government took early measures to limit the spread of the virus. Now, security measures are implemented in hotels and restaurants. Medical care has been organized in hotels, aimed at detection and treatment of coronavirus," he stressed.
One of the safest and most spectacular types of voyages in Greece, particularly in its islands’ locations - yachting - was presented by the “AquaTrotters” co-founder, Mr. Leonidas Effrosinidis. Travelling on a yacht, tourists hardly cross paths with other travelers, contacting only the captain and a small crew. At the same time, as he noted, this type of holiday in Greece is quite affordable. And, thanks to the government's financial investment, the fleet is now undergoing a significant renewal. Therefore, such recreation is not only safe, but also quite comfortable.
The General Director of the “Mouzenidis Travel”, Mr. Alexander Tsandekidi, noted that Greece has published clear regulations for the tourism industry in the current environment. According to the businessman, Russian tour operators expect the start of flights to Greece no earlier than August 15. The speaker noted that many tourists have already abandoned the idea of a trip to Greece this season. And for those few, who are still waiting for the opening of the borders, one will still have to "compete". This will require involving concrete marketing strategies from businesses.
The conference participants agreed that the current tourist season can not be considered as comprehensive. Therefore, it becomes important to prepare for next year's season. In the course of the event, new courses of tourism were discussed, still underdeveloped in this sunny, warm and friendly country. In particular, participants suggested paying attention to the development of health and rehabilitative tourism.
The conference participants agreed that Greece has everything for this development: more than 350 thermal springs with unique properties are available and waiting. According to Mr. Iliadi, Russian cosmonauts, who underwent rehabilitation after a trying flight, fully recovered in Greece after only 20 days, while usually this period is twice as long. Ski resorts in Greece are not well known. Yet. For their part, the Russian participants offered to help in consultations with the best Russian specialists in the field of vacationing resorts.
Summing up the results of the conference, Suren Vardanyan noted that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry is always ready to assist in the development of any business contacts between entrepreneurs of Moscow, Russia and other countries. “We are open for cooperation,” he stressed.