“We have agreed with Archbishop Ieronymos and his associates on how to” illuminate “the Byzantine Orthodox churches in Athens and northern Greece, with the spearhead of Mount Athos,” said the Minister of Tourism.
In the actions that have been taken to strengthen religious tourism in Greece, he mentioned Minister of TourismVassilis Kikilias, in an interview given to the newspaper “Action 24 Press” and to the journalist Makis Provatas.
«We have agreed with the Holy Archdiocese, the His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos and his collaborators, for the way in which we will “illuminate” the orthodox Byzantine churches in Athens and in northern Greece, with the spearhead of Mount Athos. We enhance religious tourism on our islands and in the outlying areas with the beautiful chapels, where our religion is connected through the centuries with our culture and history, so as to attract more travelers in off season“, Said Mr. Kikilias.
In fact, he announced that the Ministry of Tourism is very close to concluding a deal with a large company for religious cruise which will start from Piraeus. «They will first come to Athens, travel to specific Aegean islands, go to our Cyprus and end up in Israel to go to the Holy Land of Jerusalem. So we are planning a winter religious cruiseHe stressed, emphasizing that in this way, the cruise, which this year started in March and will end in December, in 2023 will be further extended and will be 12 months.
About Greek-Turkish relations and whether they affect tourism, the minister stressed that the defense of the homeland and the policy of deterrence are paramount, however, it turns out that despite the rhetoric of their country’s leadership, tourists from Turkey visit the Greek islands for their holidays . «In Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Kos, Leros, Rhodes, Halki, Symi and Kastelorizo, Turkish tourists come daily by dayboats, leave their currency, eat in our restaurants, enjoy the beauties of the Greeks islands“, He stated characteristically.
Mr. Kikilias He spoke about the strategy and hard work that preceded the autumn and winter, efforts that have been bearing fruit since the spring. As he said, “The result is that this year’s tourist season, based on the data so far, seems to be crowned with success, however the tourism product is volatile in every external factor, therefore “we will make a fund at the end of 2022».
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