Key Tourism Figures Applaud Google Initiative For Off-Season Promotion Of Greece

Archive photo of Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni speaking at a Google event in Athens on the importance of onlune activity for travel.

“Now, more than ever, it is possible to gradually extend the tourist season,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni recently said in regards to an initiative announced by Google that sees to promote Greece during the off season.

Dubbed “Grow Greek Tourism Online,” Google’s initiative will provide online tools and training to Greek tourism enterprises to promote Greece online beyond the summer months.

The provided services will include Google My Business and Google AdWords to improve online presence, search results and maps and also help promote off-season offers.

The initiative will run in cooperation with the Greek Tourism Ministry, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Google will initially launch the initiative from Crete in September and expand to more Greek destinations in 2015.

GNTO General Secretary Panos Livadas.

According to Mrs. Kefalogianni, the qualitative development of the national tourism product is a strategic objective of the ministry. “Through partnerships via the Internet and the use of innovative tools, we are taking one step further in this direction,” she said.

“The aim is to extend the tourist season and promote alluring elements of Greece that are not widely known,” the secretary general of the GNTO, Panos Livadas, said in regards to Google’s initiative.

He noted that the Internet is an important part of the GNTO’s communication strategy, which centers around the country’s tourism website www.visitgreece.gr.

SETE President Andreas Andreadis.

Mr. Livadas added that Greek regions, municipalities and tourism businesses should benefit from the Internet, as, according to studies, its use could increase demand by up to 20 percent.

On his part, SETE’s president, Andreas Andreadis, said the Internet has become one of the basic tools for the promotion of Greek tourism businesses.

He said that if the web is used properly, in the long term, businesses could benefit up to 20 percent from increased demand of online tourism options.

Photos © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)