He expressed his optimism for the course of tourism from the stage of the 32nd Ordinary General Assembly of SETE, the president of the Association, Yiannis Paraschis.

Referring to the data of the first 5 months of the year, Mr. Paraschis noted that they allow moderate optimism for the course of arrivals and revenues for tourism. Although he emphasized that this image does not equally concern all tourist activities and all regions.

Particularly,

  • Air arrivals in relation to 2023 show an increase of +12.4% in the five months (AIA +16.4% and Regional +9.5%).
  • Seat planning appears to be up +8.2% for the year as a whole
  • Road tourism shows an increase in the first five months by approximately +11%
  • While Average Expenditure per Capita (APC) in Q1 had increased by 3%

“Don’t take success for granted”

As Mr. Paraschis said, the development dynamics of the strong Greece brand built in recent years shows considerable resilience. And this, despite the intensifying competition from neighboring markets, the decreasing intensity of the so-called revanche travel after the pandemic, but also the ongoing geopolitical crises in our region with the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza dominating, the natural disasters that hit us, the ongoing pressures on incomes from persistent inflation but also from the wider social problems highlighted by the European elections.

However, he emphasized that the positive messages should not lead both the representatives of the industry and the state into the trap that success is guaranteed and a given.

“In order to continue the positive course, we are working systematically for answers and consents to the current issues of the development model of Greek tourism for the coming years.

Combined with our project “Hellenic Tourism 2030| Action Plans’ (completed in August 2021) – at our AGM last year we set five central priorities for 2030.

  • Investments and competitiveness
  • The infrastructure issue
  • Destination management
  • The labor market
  • and of course sustainability” emphasized the president of SETE.

At 5.1 billion euros, tourism investments in 2023

Mr. Paraschis also referred to tourism investments which reached 5.1 billion euros in 2023, nearly double from 2019 “substantially contributing to narrowing the critical investment gap.” “However, the continuation of this positive trend will depend on a series of issues that directly affect the attractiveness and competitiveness of tourism investments” noted the president of SETE. He continued: “Achieving investment grade and narrowing benchmark funding spreads last fall was certainly a positive development. Legislation on short-term rental last December they also took a step in the right direction regarding mainly issues of tax treatment and separation of occasional private exploitation from professional activity. We await further clarifications on the operation of the accommodation, the duration of short-term leases and the number of accommodation per area where social (housing) issues arise. The extension of reduced VAT on catering and transport only partially alleviates the problem of higher VAT on package tourism compared to the competition. We would say the same applies to the recent legislative regulation on the beach issue which was necessary and in which we actively participated by submitting substantial and realistic proposals. But at the same time a solution to the time-consuming pending spatial planning issue is required with specific land uses and with institutional conditions that ensure a reliable investment environment with legal certainty. As well as the utilization of the financial tools of the TAA and the NSRF 2021-2027, as well as the new development law for the financing of tourism businesses, especially for green transition issues.”

Infrastructure

Mr. Paraschis also rang a bell, emphasizing that existing public infrastructure is insufficient to meet the demands of increasing flows towards 2030.

“An important preparatory work has already been done by SETE and our Institute at the level of mapping and recording proposals – which are specialized for each region of the country – of which 50% refer to public infrastructures directly related to tourism, while another 20% it refers to infrastructures of wider benefit” said the president of SETE, adding that the utilization of the resources of the Recovery and Resilience Fund and the NSRF is a unique opportunity which the government and the local government must take advantage of in order to avoid an asymmetric and by extension unsustainable development between tourist flows, significant private investment and the necessary infrastructure.

He pointed out at the same time that a condition for the adequacy of the infrastructure in terms of realistic and sustainable development is the expansion of the geographical and temporal distribution of tourist activity beyond the 5 regions and 5 months. “However, for this to happen, targeted interventions in specific forms of tourism and the corresponding infrastructures are needed.” Citing an example, he mentioned the lack of conference infrastructure in Athens, but also the need to upgrade related infrastructure in Thessaloniki. “A shortfall that leads to job and revenue losses, makes it difficult to impossible to attract large conferences and does not allow for seasonality to be mitigated.”

Labor market

Mr. Paraschis also referred to the thorny issue of the labor market, stressing that given the demographic developments will be a major structural challenge for the coming years. “We are in dialogue with the relevant ministries regarding the necessary interventions in the labor market, the improvement of working conditions, the mitigation of seasonality, with programs to attract, train and continuously improve the skills of human resources, by improving the effectiveness of the institutionalized framework of transfers , in order to meet the new requirements in the workplace and the international trends that took shape after the pandemic,” he emphasized.

In addition, he noted that the reduction of employer contributions it can further contribute to the increase of jobs, employment time and ultimately to the net income of employees. “One thing is clear, human capital remains the most critical factor in shaping the tourism product.”

Finally, the president of SETE also referred to sustainable development of Greek tourismemphasizing that we should realize that the competitiveness and economic viability of our tourism product and entrepreneurship depend to a large extent on the dimensions of social and environmental sustainability.

Mr. Paraschis closed his speech by saying that “our vision for the future is a competitive tourism that is socially and environmentally sustainable, with reduced seasonality and fairer geographical distribution. A tourism that leaves no one behind. With benefits for all.”