Mr. President,
Dear Friends,
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today. And I won’t hide the fact that this pleasure has a personal, sentimental dimension, I would say. The Tourism Ministry was the first Ministry I headed, and from the very moment of its founding, we collaborated closely. I shared with you the vision, the effort, and, mainly, the result.
I see old friends among us, from Greece but also from our neighbouring friend Turkey. I am referring to TURSAB President Başaran Ulusoy, as well as to Hamdi Topçu, the President of Turkish Airlines. I am also referring to the President of the German Travel Association (DRV), Mr. Jürgen Büchy. And I would also like to thank Mr. Telonis personally for this initiative, bringing us together here today. I see among you the President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), my old and good associate Mr. Liaskos, with whom we worked together at that time to build this Ministry, and I also see the good colleague Ministers.
I won’t hide the fact that tourism is one of the issues that is always close to my heart, because I think it is a basic and vital development tool for the Greek economy; a tool that we need to invest in. Nor will I ever forget, as I said before, that we worked closely together, when the Tourism Ministry was first established, to develop and promote Greek tourism. And it was not by chance that we named its as we did, because development , environment and culture are the three pillars supporting the policy for promoting Greek tourism.
The Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) is a real force in Greek tourism, and its people have been serving Greek tourism for many decades with professionalism, seriousness and responsibility, and all of its leaderships, older and current, deserve our congratulations.
Greek tourism, with the decisive role of tourist and travel agencies, is contributing decisively, amidst the difficult state of affairs that our country is experiencing – but that won’t last long, you can be sure – to the strengthening of the Greek economy. But at the same time it functions as a vehicle for the promotion of Greek culture, as well as for the rehabilitation of our countries international image, which has been compromised by the crisis.
it is no exaggeration to say that the Tourism Ministry is a small, but important, Foreign Ministry. It contributes through its initiatives – and this is a great contribution of tourism to peace and cooperation – to better understanding amongst peoples, because through tourism activities we get to know one another better, we learn about other peoples’ cultures, their customs, sharing a way of life. And the better acquainted people are, the more their governments are encouraged to take important decisions that contribute to the consolidation of peace, cooperation and security in regions like ours.
I remind you that in the past, with the Turkish Tourism and Culture Ministry, we took an initiative – for our meetings to take place on the same day in both countries. At that time, many said, “it can’t be done,” but it was done, and that was how we pointed up the principle of proximity. Meetings take place in the morning in Kusadasi, and in the afternoon in Samos; in the morning in Cas, and in the afternoon on Kastelorizo. In Mytilini or Chios, and in Cesme. To show that the distances between the two countries are more psychological and not actual. We owe this to tourism, and this is another dimension of my presentation here today, with the collective effort both countries made at this time, as shown by the decisions that were taken and that led to the signing of 25 agreements with our neighbouring friendly country at the last Summit Meeting in Istanbul.
Today, as much as ever before, we need to need to capitalize on the process of the restructuring of the Greek economy to the benefit of tourism.
I was asked to talk to you today, as the Foreign Minister, about Schengen visas: current developments and the outlook in this particular sector.
I want to assure you that the Foreign Ministry – within the framework of our country’s contractual obligations – is sending clear instructions to our Consular Missions to ensure the greatest possible simplification and acceleration of the procedures for issuing visas to third-country nationals who wish to visit Greece.
But beyond the existing general instructions, a few days ago – and before the beginning of this years tourist season – I sent an Instruction Memo to all of Greece’s diplomatic and consular authorities with the aim of optimizing our facilitation of third-country nationals who wish to visit Greece.
I issued instructions to ensure the immediate servicing of third-country nationals through the provision of fast, efficient and friendly procedures for issuing visas.
Specifically, in this memo I ask that emphasis be put on the potential for issuing multiple-entry visas to good-faith applicants, lasting from six months to five years, and on the speedy completion of application reviews – within 48 hours – except in cases, of course, coming under the regime of previous consultation amongst the member states), as well as on the appropriate use of the potential for cooperation with external providers and with locally active, reliable commercial mediators. At the same time, I note in my instructions the need to capitalize on the potential for issue visas free of charge to specific categories of applicants regarding whom there is either a relevant provision in community law, or it is up to the discretion of the member state.
You are well aware that, with regard to third countries of special interest to Greece due to increasing tourist flows – including Russia, China and Turkey – we have created Greek Visa Centers aimed at serving the public even more efficiently. These centers are operating in 17 Russian cities, 3 cities in China, and 6 cities in Turkey. These centers take in applications, together with the accompanying documentation, from private individuals and tourist agencies.
Subsequently, they send the documents to the closest consular authority for further processing, thus facilitating the smooth flow of tourists.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Following the successful implementation last year of the pilot programme for facilitating the visa issuing process on 5 large islands in the Eastern Aegean (Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios and Lesvos), the Foreign Ministry has obtained the approval of the European Commission to repeat the programme during this year’s tourist season as well, with implementation running from the end of April to the end of October 2013.
The aim of this programme is to facilitate and encourage visits to our country by Turkish nationals, mainly, and tourists of other nationalities who are visiting Turkey.
By starting the programme in late April – before the tourist influx for Orthodox Easter – and extending its duration this year, we aspire to boost tourist visits to our country even further.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The total number of visas issued by Greek Consular Authorities in 2012 came to 994,265 – a 30.25% increase over the 763,329 visas issued in 2011.
Moreover, according to the statistical data for the first two months of 2013, as compared to the same period last year, there is a steady increase in the average number of visas issued, even outside the high tourist season.
Finally, I would like to assure you that the Foreign Ministry, in collaboration with other, co-competent ministries and agencies, has initiated the process of consultations on potential initiatives and proposals that our country can submit to the European Commission during the process for revising the Visa Code, which is set to coincide with Greece’s EU Presidency in the first half of 2014.
I want you to know that during the Greek Presidency we will take initiatives – and we have every reason to do so – to strengthen the tourism sector even further, not just in Europe, but throughout our wider region. We have every reason to do this, because Greece is not judged and compared according to its geographical size and the size of its population alone, but is also one of the top destinations in the world. I have no hesitation in saying – and I have no wish to seem arrogant – that it is a small superpower in the tourism sector. That is how we perceived it then, and that is why our promotion abroad sent this message.
We strongly believe in tourism’s contribution to the Greek economy, and all of Greece needs to realise at some point that tourism is an agent for growth and progress that deserves the support, respect and recognition of the Greek state. I want to assure you that this government bows in deep appreciation and a real will to support the tourism activities of our countries and those who represent Greek tourism.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am truly certain that the conclusions that arise from this General Assembly will be very useful for understanding the responsibilities of both the state and your sector – as well as of sectors related to the tourism sector – so that we can map out a mid-term and long-term strategy that will stand the test of time and not be subject, that is, to any political changes that might take place.
Greek tourism needs constants, and you will remember that I professed this as a fundamental principle in the policy we adopted during my time in office at the Tourism Ministry. And I want to believe that we will continue in the same direction, because Greek tourism is a constant of the Greek economy, and this is confirmed by the percentage of our country’s GNP that it accounts for, particularly during the critical times the Greek economy is going through.
At this time in particular, Greek tourism needs a national plan – a plan we need to draw up all together: the government, the political parties, political agencies, tourism organizations. Greek tourism unifies Greece politically – there are no differences regarding the model for tourism development.
And what’s more, the political forces need to acknowledge and bow in respect to the major contribution of the leaders of the tourism sector, because before the Greek state discovered tourism, it had been discovered by the private sector. And if Greece is currently a high-standard destination, it is not due so much to the policies that were adopted from time to time, as to your own efforts, which we need to acknowledge and support in every way, and that is what I’m saying with my presence here today.
March 27, 2013