Interview with Harry Theoharis, Greek Tourism Minister

2020-03-16
/
/ New Delhi
Rate this post
Harry Theoharis, Tourism Minister, Greece

Harry Theoharis, Tourism Minister, Greece

With a focus on the high-end travellers, Greece is positioning itself in India as a summer holiday, MICE, wedding and filming destination.

How do you plan to position Greece as a preferred destination for Indian travellers in 2020?

In 2020, Greece plans to do a number of workshops and roadshows in order to showcase itself to the Indian market. Greece has a lot to offer for the Indian tourists, it is a very attractive cruising destination, so ships can stop in many islands and tourists can have a flavour of different islands in one go through the cruises.

Greece is also very attractive for MICE, city-breaks and weddings. This market is flourishing and I think we have great things to offer for the Indians who want to perform such events in our country. And finally, Greece is very well-known for the summer vacations in the islands, beaches, luxurious five-star or four-star hotels of different price levels and it is a destination not much well-known to the Indian market and we would like to change that idea.

As you said you would like to change the perception of the Indians about Greece, how about using the Indian film industry?

In the past few years, the film industry of India, Bollywood, has discovered Greece. So we now can see the first films that have been shot in Greece and we are very happy about that. In fact, I am in discussion with the production companies to choose Greece or prefer Greece for some of their upcoming works.

We would like to promote that and recently Greece has introduced a 35 pc rebate which is very attractive compared to the international standards. I would suggest that if you have a production company, look into Greece. It has unexplored territories, great scenery and it can offer a lot to the producers of films.

How do you want to package the Greek locations filmed in Indian cinema for the Indian tourists to come and explore for themselves?

This is a very interesting point. Well, we have seen this in the past that films for example that were shot in Santorini have made it very popular with the Chinese tourists, same thing with South Korea and others. We have seen it happening and feel that the film-induced tourism is very important for our tourists.

We want to ensure that when people come to Greece to film, they film in the best locations and when the films are shown – those locations have the capability to attract the tourists. So we can offer advice on where to shoot for the films.

Are you planning to position Greece as a wedding destination? Is it a challenge due to lack of direct air connectivity?

Indeed those are very important issues that you mentioned. Greece is what you say now very much Instagrammable, a very picturesque destination. It is an excellent and ideal destination for those who want to have a memorable wedding, something to remember, something to cherish and something that can stay with them and warm their hearts throughout the years of their wedding. It is an excellent destination to choose for weddings.

Now the fact that Greece has indirect air connectivity, it is important that we have to foster more flights between the two countries. So we are in discussions with all the airlines to present the case that more and more Indian tourists come to Greece. We have increased, almost doubled, every second year the number of people that visit Greece. We feel this is the time that the economy is there for the long-haul airlines to make the connection between the big cities of India and Athens or some of the islands.

What are the types of clientele you are looking at the moment? Which are your main target areas?

Greece is a destination that is well-suited for high-end travellers because it is very luxurious. We have lots of high-class infrastructures, five star or higher hotels, exclusive hotels for those who have the means to go there. So the high-end of the market is that we are mainly targeting, but at the same time there are many other destinations in Greece that can offer many things to different travellers – adventure and thrill-seekers, off-the-beaten-track seekers, family experience locations, culinary destinations – Greece has it all. It is many countries packed in one.

India is a very young country full of smart digital travellers. How do you plan to integrate social media and digital tools in your strategy to attract the millennial?

Greece Tourism already uses a lot of social media today and has integrated them into its entire marketing strategies. In fact, we are putting social media in the centre of our marketing strategy. We have upped the percentage of our marketing budget to 60-70 pc only for digital and promote on social media.

How is Greece for solo women travellers?

Absolutely yes! Greece is a very safe country, solo women travellers can feel safe and secure, will have no problem in walking or eating or going out at night alone. It is very important to understand that the safety of a country creates the kind of trust that allows tourism to grow. We are extremely careful about the overall safety required by solo women travellers who come to Greece. Hence, of course, we welcome solo women travellers not only from India but this entire subcontinent to explore beautiful places of Greece. We have been able to maintain our image as very good for solo women travellers. We will take very good care of them.

You may also like
The Set Collection to launch Deos in Mykonos, Greece
Athens participates in OTM 2024
Athens participates in OTM 2024 to enhance Indian footfall
Greece participated in the recently concluded OTM 2024
India key focus for tourism expansion for Greece
Greece tourism
Greece tourism revenues over EUR 20 billion from Jan-Nov23

Leave a Reply

Get Magazine