Greece focusing on history, luxury and the environment to WOO Mid East guests, says country's NTO president

With Greece already a long-established, historical destination for European holiday-makers, Kofinis, speaking at Arabian Travel Market 2009 - the region's premier travel and tourism event which has run in Dubai this week - said he believed re-creating such success in the Middle East represented a different set of challenges.

"Greece is a traditional tourist destination and we strongly believe we have a unique product to sell to the world. In the coming years, we're looking at maintaining revenue in our traditional Western Europe source markets and targeting certain global markets for expansion.

"The Middle East - along with Russia, China, Poland and South Africa - is one of our key target markets and we are doing a lot of research in to tailoring our products to attract a higher proportion of regional customers. It is a market which has a lot of potential but it is different, with different needs to Western European markets,"

said Kofinis.

With a relatively small population of just over 11m, tourism contributes a staggering 20% of Greece's GDP. And despite near-by neighbours Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia all investing heavily in their tourism propositions, Kofinis remains unperturbed by the threat Middle East and other Mediterranean countries pose to Greece's vital tourism sector.

"I don't view the industry in terms of competition; I think Greece is a unique product and as a destination it is important we focus on our strongest attributes; hence, our history, our culture and our traditions form vital components in our tourism strategy. Our culture and history are a world-wide attraction and it is right that we leverage this as one of our destination's strengths," he said.

"Every country, including those in the Middle East, has something different to offer and we don't think Europeans will travel to other regions instead of Greece; everywhere attracts different clients.

"However, to attract Middle East guests to Greece, we need to offer luxury city breaks and push our mountains, forests our great historical sites - we need to offer products which aren't available locally," he added.

Kofinis, citing Greece's enchanting Aegean islands as an example, described how recent efforts to modernise aspects of the country's tourism infrastructure are already bearing fruit, but he also reiterated how any development must limit environmental impact to the area's stunning natural landscapes.

"Ensuring an eco-conscious focus is the number one priority in our tourism development strategy. Of course we have balance the developments and we will not upset our natural or ancient attractions with irresponsible projects.

"Our tourism infrastructure has improved vastly over the last few years and it is much better than it used to be. However, infrastructure is never good enough, you always need more and more. Take the islands; Greece has a truly unique advantage in terms of its islands.

"There are so many nautical routes and so many unexplored nautical routes; there is variety, you can spend one night on one island, take your boat and sail to the next and the next. We have so much natural coastline, it's a distinct product we are proud of. We have the biggest fleet of cruising ships in the world under the Greek flag and we have the proper infrastructure to support this sector."

Kofinis also outlined two tourism sub-sectors his body is targeting to further fuel inbound growth in the coming years: "We are also paying close attention to the sports and religious tourism markets," he said.

"Greece's geographical assets mean it is idea for water-sports holidays and golf tourism is another key growth market for us. In terms of religious tourism, Greece has many historical sites which have always been important attractions for religious travellers and we are examining ways to maximise revenue from this sector," added Kofinis.

Arabian Travel Market is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and under the auspices of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai.