The contribution of the Hellenic Hotel Chamber (HCL) to Greek Tourism was praised by the Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, from the floor of the 11th regular general assembly of the HCL, which takes place in the context of the Xenia 2023 tourist exhibition, which opened its doors today. After noting that he is a valuable interlocutor of the Ministry of Tourism, he pointed out that the hotel industry has its own contribution to the country’s development path.

In fact, she recalled that in her previous presence at the Ministry of Tourism, the foundations had been laid for facilitating the licensing of tourist businesses (complex tourist accommodations, etc.).

In fact, with the same philosophy, the Ministry of Tourism will facilitate investments in the country’s tourist infrastructure and has announced institutional interventions that will help the work of tourist businesses and will be the result of consultation with the sector’s agencies, said Mrs. Kefalogianni.

Addressing the hoteliers, she pointed out that a modernization of the framework governing hotel relations with customers is coming, as the existing framework as highlighted is considered outdated. At the same time – the minister pointed out – the updating of the framework of the organizations managing the destinations is being promoted, as well as the introduction of a new framework for infrastructure licensing for tourist ports, marinas, etc.

Responding to the criticism leveled by hoteliers for the upcoming short-term rental regulations, who are pushing for a stricter framework than what has been presented, Ms. Kefalogianni pointed out that the position of the Ministry of Tourism is a given and concerns the establishment of rules so that short-term rental not to operate in unfair competition with hotels but in addition to them.

Given the fact that the regulation in question will come to parliament in December, the Ministry of Tourism is pushing, among other things, for the VAT, the vagrancy fee and the durability fee to also be applied to the short-term rental market.

On the same subject, the president of XEE, Alexandros Vassilikos, expressed his disappointment with the regulations that have seen the light of day, stating that common sense must be applied in this field. In fact, he invited the relevant ministers to take the example of other countries and the way they deal with short-term renting. In his intervention, Mr. Vassilikos focused on the resilience of the sector, in an external environment of challenges and anxiety for the next day both at the level of the economy and geopolitical developments.

In any case, however, he emphasized that “it is time for the Greek hotel industry to transition, it is the moment when we will not follow the trends but create them”. In support of this, he asked for the support of small hotels (1, 2, 3 stars) that have been left out of investment tools, both for their energy upgrade and for the modernization of their infrastructure. As he explained, these are the backbone of the Greek hotel and should not be put in second gear compared to the more expensive hotels. At this point, Mrs. Kefalogianni agreed that even the lowest accommodations should not be deprived of their modernization programs, as is the case with all legal tourism businesses, which in turn, should be able to receive funds specifically for energy upgrading.

Finally, from the stage of the regular general meeting of the XEE, Mr. Vasilikos announced that in the spring in Rhodes specifically HOTREC (the European trade union body of hoteliers) will organize a conference on climate change, with the participation of all European tourism operators.

From the 25th to the 27th of November, more than 520 exhibitors will welcome hoteliers, villa owners, architects, decorators, and thousands more executives of the tourism industry to present them high aesthetic hotel equipment and furniture proposals, innovative materials and sustainable construction practices and decoration, professional kitchen machinery and tools, digital reservation systems and digital marketing applications. At the same time, the workshop stages of the exhibition will host 94 speakers, who through 45 thematic sections will present all the hospitality megatrends on a global level.