The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) has welcomed the announcement by the Greek Minister for Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, that the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) will open an office in Melbourne which will be housed at the GCM’s landmark Greek Centre in Lonsdale Street.
In a telephone conference on Tuesday with the GCM President Bill Papastergiadis, Minister Kikilias confirmed that the GNTO would reopen an office in Australia and further confirmed that the location of that office would be in the GCM’s building in the heart of the city.
Minister Kikilias said that "it is very important for us to add more markets so that we have travellers and tourists 12 months a year. This is the target we are aiming for in Australia. It is crucial because it is on the other side of the world, another continent, and it has a significant Greek element. It is a market that has finally opened up after two years of restrictive measures brought on by the pandemic."
In this latest telephone conversation with the Minister, Mr Papastergiadis emphasised the importance of creating bridges between our two countries, saying: “we share similar values and ideals and have large communities that will benefit from this new resource. The NGTO office will ideally be suited to the vibrant Greek Centre, where it will proudly sit under the recently unveiled Parthenon Frieze replica alongside the Australian head office of the National Bank of Greece.”
"It is a dream come true for us", continued Mr Papastergiadis. "We are delighted with the Greek government's decision to go ahead with the opening of the GNTO office at the Greek Centre as it is something we have been encouraging for eight years, and finally, Minister Kikilias will make it happen.”
