What steps are you taking to open the Indian market for Crete, and how do you see the new airport in 2027 contributing to this effort?

We are trying to open the Indian market that is why we are trying to have contacts with travel agents and media, so that we let the Indian market know about our destination because Crete is a small continent. For a visitor, they can find almost everything from culture, gastronomy, activities, very good infrastructure in hotels, MICE, weddings, just name it and we have it. All year round destination and we are also very excited because we are going to have a new airport in 2027 and hopefully we are going to have direct connection with India and this is very important for us, so we are getting ready for the Indian market.

How do you plan to increase Crete’s visibility in the Indian market?

Crete is a unique destination. It is not so well known to the Indian market, but it is a very popular destination. There is a very good connectivity with Athens by flight or with Santorini by boat in two hours, so it is very easily accessible and if we are going to have a direct flight from India, it is going to be very, very good.

Which cities in India do you see as the biggest source markets for Crete?

Crete is a unique destination, it is not so well known to the Indian market (Photo: Visit Greece)

At the moment, we are considering Mumbai and New Delhi as the primary source markets for Crete, with potential flight connectivity starting from these two cities in 2027.

What kind of travellers from India would go to Crete?

This is why I told you that we have almost everything we can welcome all types of tourism. I mean business tourism, MICE, weddings, leisure, families, all types of tourism. We have very good infrastructure, hotels, family-friendly hotels, adults-only hotels and we have all types of tourism. Therefore, we are a popular destination we welcome more than 6 million visitors every year, so we are getting ready for the Indian market.

Which is your biggest market and how many Indians visit Crete currently?

Germany is our biggest market, but India is nowhere in the top 15 because we don’t have direct flights and we cannot count Indians because they are coming from other destinations we have no idea, but we know that we have Indian visitors.

Are you in touch with any airline for launch of flights?

We are here with representatives from the new airport and we know that they are making some efforts for a new connection and one important thing is that one of the constructors of the new airport is GMR from India. Therefore, we are definitely going to have the assistance of GMR for the connection.

How do you intend reaching out to the Indian market?

Crete welcome more than 6 million visitors every year (Photo: Visit Greece)

We are trying to have some e-learning for the travel agents about the destination. We will also try to organise some farm trips for travel agents and reporters and journalists to come to Crete and get to know our destination and apart from that, we are planning to have some promotion here, so we advertise our destination, these are the actions we are planning.

How many days do you think an Indian can plan a visit to Crete for?

If someone from Europe were asking me that, I would tell him definitely one week because it is a big island. It is the biggest in Greece but I know that Indians want to change destination, so I would definitely say four days.

How accessible is Crete? If you have to plan an itinerary for an Indian and if somebody, for example, is going to Athens, how far is it?

It is a 35-minute flight. It is a short flight we have direct flights to many cities around Europe so, it is very easily accessible.

Which Asian markets are you targeting for growth, apart from Europe?

I think we have a lot of people from the Middle East, a lot of people from Israel, Egypt, Jordan and so on.

Is Destination Wedding one of the target areas for you?

We already host Indian weddings in our hotels so, we know how to do it. Apart from that, we have Indian restaurants in Crete and I think it is important for the visitors to know that they can find the gastronomy that they know in the island and I don’t know. It has to do with the DMCs about hosting weddings. We, as a destination, we are more than happy to assist anyone who wants to do that in our island.

Greece has been filmed a lot in Indian cinema. Are you also looking to attract filmmakers to come and shoot in Crete?

Yes, because so far we didn’t have any films in Crete and we are trying to say that we are a film location. We are ideal in filming. Therefore, we can assist anyone who wants to make a production in Crete. We have also the film office as a region in Crete and we can give all the assistance that they may need and we also have incentives because we have a rebate for producers so, it is very important.

Are you meeting any studios in Mumbai?

Yes, I just finished a meeting with a studio which is very important in the film industry and we had also some meetings with spokespersons from the film industry in India.

What is your target for India for this year?

We are making all efforts to be ready in two years to host as many people from India as possible.