• EBRD and UNWTO joined forces with the Ministry of Tourism in Greece to support tourism recovery
  • Four key recovery projects were implemented and completed
  • Focus on economic recovery, marketing, and institutional strengthening

UNWTO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have successfully worked alongside the Greek Government to help the country's tourism sector recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

As part of a wider effort to boost resilience and accelerate recovery in the wake of the worst crisis in the history of tourism, the Bank selected several areas of UNWTO's "COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package" to implement in Greece. This package was built around three main pillars of intervention: economic recovery, marketing and promotion, and institutional strengthening and building resilience.

Four projects of critical importance for the tourism sector at the time were selected and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism of Greece, namely:

  1. Measurement of COVID-19's impact and development of monitoring guidelines: Within this project, tourism data needs were aligned between the Bank of Greece, the Hellenic Statistical Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism. Ten areas of intervention were identified, along with 25 actions for improvement of monitoring, and training was provided to seven representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, the Bank of Greece and the Hellenic Statistical Authorities.
  2. Preparation of a roadmap to support tourism MSMEs and job retention: The project included reviewing the existing support measures for MSMEs, interviewing tourism national associations, MSMEs, and professionals, and designing a seven-action roadmap. Moreover, 41 tourism professionals, travel agencies, hotels, and secondary accommodation establishments were trained on a range of topics, including digital marketing tools, HR management, analysing tourism data to identify opportunities, and improving the quality of services and the overall tourist experience.
  3. Updating the Tourism Marketing Strategy: Key international and domestic markets trends were analysed both during and post-pandemic. Six areas of intervention were identified, and the passenger survey questionnaires of the Athens International Airport and the 14 regional airports operated by Fraport have been updated to measure newly selected indicators. The strategy was also presented at a seminar with the foreign offices of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, in collaboration with its headquarters.
  4. Development of a Tourism Crisis Management Plan: The first such plan for the Ministry of Tourism, identifying various types of crises, outlining concrete response mechanisms, roles, and processes, and introducing a case study simulation.

Along with the UNWTO and EBRD teams working on the project, a team of experts in crisis management, statistics, marketing, and MSMEs was brought in to spearhead the implementation, transfer knowledge and work closely with the Ministry of Tourism and stakeholders for the delivery of the project activities envisaged.

Recovery Package Delivers Results

As a leading destination, both within Europe and worldwide, Greece has consistently maintained its relevance in the global tourism market and emerged resilient during the long-lasting financial and economic crisis of the past decade. In the context of the pandemic, Greece then managed to sustain and increase the contribution of its tourism sector to its national economy and was one of the first European countries to reopen to international visitors in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Looking ahead, the work done under the Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package will enable the Ministry of Tourism to monitor closely the performance of the sector and systematically respond to and address any crises that might occur affecting the tourism sector of Greece. EBRD continues to support the Greek tourism sector through targeted investments or financing that promote sustainable and inclusive tourism and enhance youth employment and backward linkages with local economies. UNWTO remains active in Greece to support the tourism development of local destinations through projects on the ground while strengthening the close and continuous collaboration with the country.

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About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

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