Greece’s tourism minister expects a record year for her nation’s tourism industry with an anticipated 15-20% increase in arrivals over the previous year.
Last year, 26.5 million people visited Greece— up from 22 million in 2014.
Despite economic woes and a refugee crisis that have kept the nation in the headlines— for all the wrong reasons— tourists continue to flock there.
This year “is definitely going to be a good year” for tourism in Greece, Elena Kountoura , the country’s minister of tourism, said in an interview at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai on Monday.
If Kountoura’s estimates are realized, that would mean upwards of 30 million visitors in 2016.
The growth in arrivals will be driven in part by new tourism offerings and promotional campaigns in international markets, she said.
“We implemented a new strategy. We have prolonged the [tourism] season. It starts in [early] April when normally before it started end of April and now it ends late November. We have also developed new products: thematic tourism, cruise tourism and medical tourism,” she said.
Travel expert Rick Steves’ 10 best places to visit in Greece
