Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni highlighted the new, comprehensive strategy to support and promote mountain destinations, being implemented for the first time at national level, during her address in Parliament in the debate on the 2026 State Budget.
In this direction, legislative interventions aim to achieve:
Year-round operation of the countrys ski resorts, with provisions for the development of additional activities beyond skiing,
The creation of a new tourism product, Sustainable Mountain Tourism Destination, based on a combination of low-density tourism accommodation types within the spatial boundaries of ski resorts,
There was also an extension of the Tourism for All 2025 program during the winter and shoulder months of the year, while targeted promotion of lesser-known mountain tourism destinations is being shaped.
In her speech, Ms. Kefalogianni underlined the critical role of Greek tourism in the countrys development policy as well as in efforts to improve the living standards of Greek citizens. She stated:
The role of Greek tourism is certainly catalytic. Our vision is to transform its great potential into tangible prosperity for local communities, with the economic benefits of tourism returning to citizens. We want the national, collective success of Greek tourism to be reciprocal for the whole of Greek society.
The Minister of Tourism also noted that the Greek economy is on a continuous growth path and enjoys fiscal stability, at a time of intense uncertainty and serious challenges, with the country consistently producing a primary surplus and achieving the largest debt reduction in the European Union in 2025, while at the same time recording the greatest reduction in unemployment among EU Member States since 2019.
Ms. Kefalogianni described the 2026 Budget as reform-oriented and with a strong social dimension, stressing that tax reform and other interventions will boost disposable income and contribute substantially to supporting the real economy and to a meaningful improvement in Greeks living standards.
Greece among the worlds top 10 tourism destinations
With regard to tourism, as she emphasized, Greece today ranks among the worlds top 10 tourism destinations, with more than 40 million visitors and revenues of 21.6 billion in 2024, while available data indicate that 2025 is shaping up to be another milestone year for Greek tourism.
The Minister of Tourism referred to the significant increase in tourism investments and the attraction of strong investment capital, even in areas that in the past did not attract investor interest, as well as to the more than doubling of the number of five-star hotels in recent years, as evidence of confidence in the prospects of Greek tourism and the Greek economy.
She placed particular emphasis on contemporary challenges in the areas of destination sustainability, resilience to the climate crisis, and digital transition, noting that Greece is playing a leading role in shaping the future of tourism by proposing the main pillars of the first common European Strategy for Sustainable Tourism, which will be presented in 2026 by the EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Mr. Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
The work of the Ministry of Tourism
Speaking next about the work of the Ministry of Tourism, Ms. Kefalogianni referred to policies being implemented to enrich and diversify the tourism offering, modernize infrastructure, upgrade service quality and tourism education, digitize tourism promotion, as well as targeted legislative interventions, such as the new hotel classification system based on environmental performance and the new operational framework for short-term rental properties.
Finally, the Minister stressed that the quality and competitiveness of the tourism offering depend primarily on the sectors human resources. In this context, she mentioned the recent establishment of the possibility to utilize the Ministry of Tourisms educational unitswhich have hotel construction permitsthrough publicprivate partnerships, with the aim of reviving the model of coexistence between a hotel and an educational unit, so that graduates enter the labor market already trained under real working conditions.
In closing, the Minister of Tourism called on Parliament to approve the 2026 Budget, emphasizing that it reflects the countrys national and social priorities in addressing the everyday problems of Greek citizens. On the same basis, she said, we intend to further leverage the benefits of the countrys strong tourism growth to support all local communities in a reciprocal manner, so that Greek tourism is a source of prosperity for all citizens.
