Greek campaign to attract Russian tourists

Culture and Tourism deputy minister George Nikitiadis held a series of talks in Moscow on Monday with Russian tourist authorities as part of the ministry's revamping of its strategy and effort to maximise the penetration of the Greek tourism product on the Russian market.

The steps the ministry intends to push forward include opening up more visa centers in major Russian cities, sending consular employees to faciliate procedures, enhancing incentives and urging more charter flights from Russia, aiming to render Greece an annual destination with a broad variety of specialised tourism products, such as agrotourism, sport tourism, religious tourism and conference tourism, "which are gradually becoming more widely known in Russia," Nikitiadis said after talks with his counterpart Oleg Kazlov.

The Greek official also pointed out that Greece has for some time taken a stand in favor of abolition of the visa requirement between the EU and Russia.

Such a development would mean that the number of Russian tourists to Greece could exceed one million (from the current 300,000), he noted, adding that he has had positive messages from the largest tour operators he met with, who estimate a 20-25 percent increase in Russian tourists to Greece next year.

"Greece is one of the most popular destination countries, and we are attracted not only by its history and our common traditions but also by the huge prospects for quality leisure," Kazlov said.