Tourism performed extremely well over the Easter holidays across Greece and more than 325,000 cars departed from Athens during that period, Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Tuesday in an interview with Open TV.

He also noted that “occupancy rates at popular destinations ranged well above 85-90%, with a significant presence of foreign visitors.”

Kikilias further stated that the strategy of the ministry was to showcase every corner of the country, adding that foreign tourists have already visited destinations they did not previously know.

“It is a very optimistic picture for the country and the effort to stimulate the Greek economy,” the minister underlined, adding that “we worked hard to start the tourist season earlier than ever.”

“We are still at the beginning, as we expect a second wave in the next three days,” he stressed, saying that the results will be obvious at the end of the year.

Kikilias said that “tourism is the people’s economy in Greece and the money from tourism goes directly into the real economy, supporting the disposable income of Greeks and small and medium-sized enterprises.”

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.