By Giorgos Vernikos, Secretary General of SETE and President of INSETE
Since 1992, when SETE was founded, our main goal has been the unity of the Greek tourism sector, in order to overcome fragmentation and conflicting messages. We sought to create a single, consistent voice, with emphasis on quality, sustainability, business competitiveness and the promotion of tourisms importance for the country.
Today, after crises and fluctuations most recently the pandemic we can say with certainty that we have built a strong tourism brand. The results are impressive: 2024 and 2025 are record years, with 40 million arrivals and 23 billion euros in foreign exchange revenue. For 2026, the optimistic scenario forecasts 4142 million arrivals and 2425 billion euros in revenue. The sector employs 700,000 workers at its peak, corresponds directly to 13% of GDP and indirectly reaches 30%.
Our work, however, is not reflected only in numbers. Our priority is the quality of the product, the human-centered approach, the promotion of new regions and cross-party consensus. A central pillar remains the connection of tourism with the environment, culture and local production, as well as the protection of the authenticity and identity of destinations. We also highlight the concept of balance, a framework that combines sustainability indicators and shapes a new, well-balanced development model. The year 2026 will be the first year of a common European strategy for sustainable tourism.
The 20202030 plan of SETEINSETE includes 2,000 interventions. We are at the midpoint of the decade. The next step is to update a new ten-year master plan that will make use of technology and artificial intelligence, clarify the responsibilities of the state and incorporate spatial planning. At this years Congress on December 17, 2025, titled A Vision for Tourism Ahead of Developments, we aim to shape the compass that will guide us into the future.
Tourism faces long-term challenges, but also issues requiring immediate action:
climate change,
demographic changes, migratory flows, housing issues and short-term rentals,
labor relations and human resources,
bureaucracy and the unclear legal-certainty framework, mainly due to slow judicial processes and multiple overlaps, which affect investment, education and human resource development.
The multiple and time-consuming procedures, ambiguities and overlaps, especially in spatial-planning matters, create frustration and lead to inability or illegality. An even greater risk is complacency: the belief that since tourism is doing well, no strategic planning or continuous political vigilance is needed. This perception ignores intense international competition and the real pressure many businesses face.
We also need to critically address terms that are often used broadly, such as production model (implying that tourism development should not be so desirable), monoculture (implying that tourism comes at the expense of other activities as if there were alternative options for small islands that would otherwise be abandoned), and overtourism, which concerns only a few specific areas. Greece has a unique comparative advantage: its environment combined with the character of its people. Hospitality is inextricably linked to the Greek.
Tourism is at the core of our economy. Citizens recognize its positive impact: 82.4% on the economy and 72.1% on the labor market. With thousands of businesses spread across the country, it contributes to regional development, supports living standards and strengthens numerous other sectors, from industry and primary production to new technologies.
SETE has the obligation, as a modern social partner, to represent small and large businesses across the entire spectrum of activities, including developed and less developed regions the other Greece with responsibility and determination. To respond to challenges and encourage dialogue, especially on issues of environmental impact and residents quality of life.
Our goal is to build, together with our organizations, institutional bodies, society, research centers and the State, a vision for tourism that will support the countrys development and improve citizens quality of life. Greek tourism is not a cyclical sector, but a strategic advantage. Together with shipping, it represents the stable economic force of Greece. Through synergies and collaborations, we can make it even stronger, more sustainable and more resilient for the decades to come.
