Kountoura: Greece Among Top Destinations for German Tourists in 2017

By Nikos Krinis in Berlin

Following a series of meetings with German travel professionals on the sidelines of the recent ITB trade show in Berlin, Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura has stated that Greece is among the top destinations of German travellers this year. ITB Berlin ran March 8-12

During her visit to Berlin, Minister Kountoura met with the president of the German Travel Association (DRV), Norbert Fiebig, who praised Greek tourism’s high performance and underlined that bookings from Germany are showing that “Greece is the strongest trend of the year in the German tourist and travel market”.

On his part, the German Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Hans-Joachim Fuchtel congratulated Kountoura for the dynamic development of Greek tourism and high popularity of Greek destinations this year.

Minister Kountoura also met with the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, and discussed details involving the 1st International Western Silk Road Workshop that will take place in Alexandroupoli on April 26-27, under the UNWTO initiative and the EU program “Western Silk Road”. The workshop will be co-organized by the Tourism Ministry and the Region Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Moreover, on the occasion of the ITB expo, the Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) held an event for the promotion of Greece that was attended by top officials of Germany and representatives of the global tourism industry, including Fuchtel, Rifai, Thomas Rachel (Germany’s Deputy Minister of Education), Isabel Hill (Director, National Travel and Tourism Office at US Department of Commerce) and Thomas Ellerbeck (Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the TUI Care Foundation).

Kountoura also attended the presentation of the project “TUI Cares for Crete – Sustainable Food” that will run on Crete by the TUI Care Foundation and Futouris and aims to link the most important economic factors of the Greek island – tourism and agriculture.

The minister’s agenda also included meetings with representatives from leading German travel agencies and interviews with media outlets, during which she promoted Greece as a 365-day a year tourism destination.

Minister Kountoura tours Greek stand @ ITB Berlin

During the ITB expo, Minister Kountoura and GNTO Secretary General Dimitris Tryfonopoulos visited the stands of Greek co-exhibitors in the Greek stand and attended events held by regions and Greek destinations.