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With regard to the prices what happens in the tourism industry? On the one hand there is the problem of competitiveness, ie prices must go down, on the other hand we see taxes increasing continuously ...

First I would like to make a distinction between the organized and independent travel. Organized trip is much cheaper than the independent one, both for foreigners, and for the Greeks. Because when we start alone to make reservations, and especially when we are in a peak period, we have a very high price. The organized tourism has the advantage that does a wholesale and therefore prices are much more competitive. They should not be too low as well in order to ensure also the quality of tourism, ie the principle value for money should be followed. During a period of crisis there is some flexibility and some better offers, so far, however, to ensure the quality of our tourism. This is the most important point and we are also going in this direction. Clearly, there are similar offers, and there is also the problem that now the VAT increased and in the tourist services, of course, the hotels have the lowest rate, therefore, differentiation is very high also in the services of travel agencies. Currently the travel companies are trying to offset this increase, and will do so as far as possible, ie they will curb their profits.

And one last question. What will you advise our readers? Let's say if they want to come to Greece and to have what  in English is called value for money, what should they choose - which places, what products at what time ...

Let us begin with the most important thing that whoever travels in peak season will have more expensive services, and maybe not so quality ones. Because where there is high congestion in general there are problems. Therefore, I would say that the initial choice should not be in the peak period. The second thing is the timely planning, because this also facilitates the travel companies to have better prices, something which not always happens. I would recommend to learn, explore a little bit more of Greece, because there are many beautiful places that they do not know. And this I can say with confidence because we know more or less how the market moves, in what directions. Outside normal destinations to seek alternative ones, new destinations. They will encounter many surprises will know many "Greece". Because Greece has a great variety. Epirus is completely different from Macedonia, even one island from another. The mature consumer knows and makes this choice in order to travel much more comfortably, more economically and with much better quality.

In Greece, the peak period is during July and August, right?

Yes, in July and August, but the peak period is from July 20 to August 20. Then is the peak period. Outside this period even if some region is “over”, there is a choice in other regions which are not so busy. This period is the most difficult because there is a large gathering of people. In Athens in the peak period there are much less people and traffic problem is solved. Furthermore, the Attica area has one part which is purely a resort. All its beaches are much recommended. The summer in Athens is the low season, and offers everything – it offers great beaches, but also culture, shows, stuff and all of this the clever customer could exploit wonderfully.

Is there any cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey in the field of tourism?

Yes, and significant efforts are made by the associations that we have in Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey to cooperate for the promotion the tourism between our countries, but also the tourism from third countries, from distant markets. Also, we support the cooperation both with Bulgaria and Turkey within ΕΚΤΑ, our European body representing tour operators and travel agents from all across Europe. And I really consider those relations extremely positive.