We live in sensitive times and times, sometimes difficult but we must all agree that tourism, travel, is this framework in which we can and will be able to work even better and cooperate “, stressed the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias during the His speech at the 9th Turkey-Greece Tourism Forum and the 4th Joint Tourism Committee held November 17-18 in Izmir.
As he said, he feels special joy that after 10 years the corresponding event of the joint committee takes place again and in fact in a constructive way.
Mr. Kikilias stressed that it is “our desire to increase the cities and islands that will be connected by ferry” and pointed out that “if I should prioritize the targets based on the pandemic and with respect to health protocols – where both “Countries have taken important steps in this direction by strengthening their national health systems – is to reduce bureaucracy and facilitate travel from Turkey to Greece and from Greece to Turkey.” “Visitors from Turkey are welcome, quality tourists and we want to boost the tourist flow from Turkey.”
The minister also referred to the mission that accompanies him, saying that he is a “practical man”, which is why he has brought with him “technocrats, professionals, airlines to work with you and have a measurable result”.
The importance of developing cooperation in Tourism between the two countries was mentioned by the Turkish Minister of Tourism and Culture Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, as it contributes positively to the good relations. He spoke about the importance of the temporary visa and how it facilitated the Turkish traveler to the Greek islands, while expressing the desire to increase both the ferry and air connections between the two countries. He said that the two sides of the Aegean are offered for the creation of cooperation and development of the cruise, while joint tourist packages can be created for the two countries, responding to the modern trend of travelers from distant countries who wish to combine destinations.
Yalcim Lokmanhekim, Director General of the Agency for Tourism Promotion and Development of Turkey spoke about the prospects of cooperation in the field of cruise and special forms of tourism in the Mediterranean basin and that tourism is building a bridge of friendship for the two countries.
The way Greece dealt with the pandemic and that it managed to develop a vaccination program as an EU country and to focus on tourist areas, said Marios Themistokleous, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, while expressing the assessment that next year will have more freedom in while there are significant prospects for the development of medical tourism.
On his part, the president of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, Alexandros Vasilikos, stressed that tourism endures because it serves values ​​and pointed out that cooperation is a tool that we must use. He also stressed the need to invest and create technology for the promotion and promotion of the tourism product.
To focus and promote the gastronomy of the two countries, healthy cuisine and wellness tourism, to create joint actions for the promotion of the tourist product and to use the technology in this direction, suggested during his speech Mahmut Ozgener, President of the Commercial Chamber of Smyrna
At the end of the event, a memorandum of cooperation on tourism was signed between the two countries.
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