Greece’s Tourism Confederation (SETE) last week revealed its target of welcoming over 35 million international arrivals to Greece and 20 billion euros in revenue for 2021. SETE’s new target sees nine million more tourists by 2021 from the 26 million it had announced three years ago.
The confederation’s target was outlined in a study carried out by PwC and presented during a Tourism & Development Conference in Athens last week.
According to the study, tourism’s contribution to the country’s economy is forecast to surpass 43 billion euros by 2021 and the sector is forecast to employ (directly and indirectly) over one million people.
“The significant contribution of tourism to the Greek economy is confirmed”, said PwC’s senior manager, Leonidas Papaioannou, while presenting the study to an audience of government representatives and tourism professionals.
According to the study, for Greece to meet its new target of arrivals and revenue, 6.5 billion euros should be invested in tourism until 2021.
Mr. Papaioannou presented the study’s targets in regards to the six key products- Sun & Beach, Yachting, Cruise, Cultural and Religious Tourism, City Break and Meeting Incentive Conference Events- which represent Greece’s competitive advantages.