Incidents of illegality and tax evasion in the Greek organized tourism market have recently reached “tsunami” proportions, concerning the illegal activity of travel agencies from third (outside the European Union) countries, creating conditions of unfair competition in the market, as well as loss of state revenue.
As a result, a “hidden” economy is being created that operates out of control and undermines public revenues, threatens the viability of Greek travel agencies that operate legally and damages the reputation and transparency of the Greek tourism product. The illegality concerns the activity of third-country tourist agencies, which collaborate directly with tourism service providers in Greece, bypassing Greek legislation and essentially creating an “underground economy”.
Specifically, according to the current legislation (article 3 par. 2 of Law 393/1976 “Establishment and operation of tourist agencies”, as amended and in force), tourist agencies from any country outside the European Union are prohibited from carrying out tourist operations in Greece, if:
1) they have not established their own tourist agency in our country, subject to reciprocity in their respective country for Greek tourist agencies that want to establish an office there, or
2) They do not collaborate for this purpose with a tourist agency that operates legally in Greece.
The Federation of Hellenic Associations of Travel & Tourism Agencies (FedHATTA), realizing the magnitude of the issue, has already established a special Committee to investigate such incidents, with the intention of revealing all those who negatively affect – and their associates – the country’s tourism economy, in order to restore compliance with legality in the sector.
At the same time, the Commercial Departments of Embassies and the Associations of Tourist Agencies of all countries outside the European Union will be informed of the specific legislation, so that they can, in turn, inform the tourist agencies of their countries. Also, all competent Customs Authorities entering the country (at airports, ports and land borders) will be informed and the necessary consultations and recommendations will have to be made so that this legislation is strictly implemented and that groups of travelers-clients of third-country tourist agencies are not allowed to enter Greece without the necessary documents, which prove their cooperation with tourist agencies that operate legally in the country.
However, the phenomenon will be able to be suppressed to a satisfactory extent and the relevant legality will be restored only if any illegal activity that is perceived is reported to the competent Regional Tourism Services, and they, in turn, are dealt with as they should.
The President of FedHATTA, Mr. Lysandros Tsilidis, stated in this regard:
“Greek travel agencies, when operating in third countries where specific restrictions apply, do everything necessary to exercise their activity legally. In the same way, it must be understood that the violation of legislation by travel agencies from third countries is not acceptable in our country. Also unacceptable are self-proclaimed experts or influencers who intervene in the work of Greek travel agencies without having any legal basis or relevant competence for such an activity.
The Federation calls on all Greek tourism professionals to contribute to the protection of competition on equal terms in the travel agency sector, consciously choosing to uphold legality throughout the tourism value chain.”
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
