The assessment that this year’s tourism year for Greece will have a positive sign was expressed by the president of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, Alexandros Vasilikos, in his speech to the Athenian Macedonian News Agency.
“Greece is doing well. All the indications point to another season with a positive sign”, says Mr. Vassilikos and underlines that this success is due to the cooperation and coordination of all parties involved and explains: “And the state, mainly through the Ministry of Tourism and the private sector and agencies, local government and employees and all those who work together to keep Greece high in the global market, recognizing the great contribution of tourism to society and the economy”.
With his eyes fixed on the difficult geopolitical scene that has been shaped by the events in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Mr. Vasilikos talks about factors of uncertainty, which, as he states in APE-MPE, nobody knows how they will develop and what consequences they may have. In fact, since he focuses on the unpredictable factor that has entered our lives for good, with the recent consequences of the Climate Crisis and the floods in Dubai, he highlights the issue of preparing for the unpredictable event and emphasizes:
“That’s why at XEE we constantly insist on the issue of preparation. The question is no longer if a crisis will happen but when it will happen. It is also the reason that, in collaboration with POX, we created a very interesting and original audio-visual material that was shared free of charge in all Regions of the country for the communication management of a crisis and the protection of the brand of each destination. In uncertain times, preparation and readiness play a decisive role”.
Infrastructure, sustainable tourism development and ensuring staff are the major challenges of Greek tourism
Answering the question of what are the challenges for the future of Greek tourism, Alexandros Vasilikos speaks of three major challenges that must be faced collectively and effectively.
The first is strengthening the country’s infrastructure. Ports, roads, airports are an integral part of the tourist experience but they are also of decisive importance for the citizens of the country, explains the president of the XEE. Especially for an island country par excellence like Greece, these infrastructures, beyond their self-evident importance for tourism, constitute a factor of local development and social cohesion, he states specifically.
The second challenge concerns sustainable tourism development. Our environment and natural wealth must be managed effectively in terms of sustainability and across a wide range of issues, from not using plastics to waste collection systems and recycling. In addition, an integral element of sustainability is resilience against the consequences of the Climate Crisis, notes Alexandros Vassilikos.
And the third major challenge is securing the personnel who play a dominant role in such a human-centered activity as tourism. Hospitality is above all the human smile, says the president of XEE with meaning.
A new ranking system for hotels based on the principles of sustainability is coming
With sustainable tourism development being an integral part of strategies in the field of tourism, Alexandros Vassilikos states that although steps are being taken in this direction, there is certainly much more to be done. However, the XEE, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, is currently working on a new classification system for hotels based on the principles of sustainability and we are sure that it will bring excellent results, says Mr. Vassilikos.
In his intervention, the president of XEE reminds that the challenge of sustainability goes beyond national borders and requires the joining of many forces and he highlighted the first historic meeting of all the leading representatives of the companies active in the hospitality market in Europe, held at the initiative of HOTREC in Rhodes on April 8 and 9 and were honored with their presence by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni.
With the Joint Declaration signed on European tourism and climate change, said Mr. Vasilikos, on the one hand the private sector is committed to the actions it will undertake for sustainable tourism and on the other hand it is asking the new leadership of the EU institutions .E that will result from the upcoming European elections to formulate in cooperation with the private sector the appropriate policies and the necessary financial tools to respond to the challenges of sustainability and resilience. “I am sure that Greece can come forward in the face of the challenge of sustainability”, noted Mr. Vassilikos.
Tourism adds value to our country and is not a second rate job.
In the challenge of human resources, Mr. Vasilikos, which as he emphasizes is a very serious problem, makes an approach that is done on two levels. “The first is that we must all understand that tourism adds value to our country and is not a second-class job”, as he states.
And the second, as Mr. Vassilikos says, is to realize that tourism includes a wide range of professions that are not only opportunistic but offer the stable ground for a truly successful professional career.
At this point, Alexandros Vasilikos focused on the XEE program, “My Hospitality” which is being taught for the second year in primary schools as part of the Skills Workshops, with the aim of bringing the children into first contact with the concept of Hospitality. In addition, XEE continues with the professional orientation program for high school students, which will start from the next school year.
The sharing economy has evolved into a dodgy business
Concluding his intervention at APE-MPE, Mr. Vasilikos answers how the issue of short-term leases is developing after the statements of the mayor of Athens on hypertourism “It is a phenomenon that we have been following at XEE since the first moment of its occurrence and we have recorded the transformation of the sharing economy into an unscrupulous business activity”, he notes.
“On this course, some arrangements have certainly been made, but which had as their main goal tax compliance, leaving aside the social aspect of the phenomenon. The housing crisis, the very expensive rents in Athens and the islands, the alteration of the physiognomy of entire neighborhoods, the burden on the infrastructure and the management of everyday life as is the case with waste collection.
We would also expect the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, to have realized the effects of this uncontrolled activity, just as the citizens themselves realize them every day”, states Mr. Vassilikos specifically and adds: “We, in the capacity of the institutional advisor of State, we continue to recommend regulations to deal with all these social consequences, as they have been applied in the vast majority of European and also global destinations”.
