German giant to give a booster shot to Greek winter tourism

German tourism operator giant Der Touristik have agreed to give a booster shot to Greek winter tourism, by expanding the number of Greek destinations and promoting travel to the country in October through December.

The agreement was reached on Thursday via teleconference between Der Touristik CEO Soren Hartman and Greece's Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias.

The German-based travel group brought 16% more tourists to Greece in 2019, and plans for another rise of 20% by 2022, from the international markets it is active in. It handles a total of 1.2 million travellers, of whom 500,000 are part of the German market.

Both officials agreed to emphasize the option of winter travel to Greece, which will expand the summer-focused tourist period further.

Der Touristik Group is part of the German giant REWE, whose turnover approaches 75 billion euros. It controls several dozens of companies in Central and Western Europe and has bought out 'Apollo' tour operator, which specializes on Greece in the Scandinavian markets.

As Minister Kikilias said, "We are working systematically to highlight more destinations, extend the [tourist] period, improve Greece's financial numbers, and create value for the average Greek family."