MEPs Put Greece, Europe Tourism on the Table

The importance of initiatives to advance tourism growth and cruise travel to Greece and Europe was at the center of a day event held at the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.

Greek MP and former tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni, MEP Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi and Carlo Corazza, head of Unit Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries of Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission.

Titled “The Future of Tourism and Cruise Travel in Greece and Europe: Challenges and Interaction”, the day event — an initiative of MEP Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi — addressed the issues of tourism development and the refugee crisis, investments in the sector, the necessity of a functional and friendlier legal framework facilitating tourism growth, as well as a common EU tourism policy.

Key speakers included Carlo Corazza, head of Unit Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries of Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission; István Ujhelyi, vice-chair of the TRAN Committee responsible for the Tourism Task Force; Yiannis Retsos, president of Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers and VP of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE); Greek MP and former tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni; and Andreas Stylianopoulos, MD Navigator Travel and Tourist Services and SETE board member.