The Minister of Tourism, Mr. Haris Theocharis, expressed his satisfaction for the decline of the indicators of the pandemic that justifies the decision to open the country to tourists.

Speaking last night at an event of the grand final of the Sup Free Hackathon organized by Lidl Hellas in collaboration with the public foundation Ath. Laskaridis and Sani Resort -under the Ministry of Environment and Energy-, Mr. Theocharis said “happy that we succeeded. The epidemic is slowly receding in our country while we have managed and opened it, because our country was accused that it may have been hasty and that it might have made moves that were not well planned. But from the moment we opened, the drop in cases in our country accelerated. This is proof in practice that we designed and implemented even better than we planned.”

The very low index of positivity in incoming tourism and “the data we collect from the controls especially at the land borders justify our decision to open tourism first of all countries in Southern Europe and as it progresses, at a high rate, the vaccination will improve the image of Greece abroad,” said the minister.

“We are at the beginning of a recovery in a very difficult year for Greek tourism, in 2021. But we are strong and on the right track because the brand of our country is stronger than ever as it has been identified with professionalism, efficiency, and safety” , insisted the Minister of Tourism.

Referring to the protection of the wetlands of Sani that are included in the European Natura network and the successful effort made in recent years for their promotion-tourist development, Mr. Theocharis described the protected area “a pole for the development of sustainable tourism.”

“The cooperation of the Sani complex with the Hellenic Ornithological Society, the continuous care for the protection of biodiversity and environmental education show the way to the future,” the minister noted and added that the ministry gives the maximum possible importance to sustainable development.

“We believe – he stressed – that the highlight of the stunning natural beauty of our country and the invitation to travelers to experience the direct interaction with the natural environment compose the modern concept of tourism, because tourism in its modern form is an experience while emphasizing that “€ 260 million from the European Recovery Fund for Sustainable Tourism Development will support mountain tourism, agritourism and so-called blue development through the upgrading of the port port network, diving tourism and other activities.”

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