Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias has agreed with his Israeli counterpart Yoel Razvozov to ramp up cooperation between Greece and Israel, especially in maritime tourism.

Kikilias announced that he is planning an initiative to promote regional cooperation in tourism between Mediterranean countries and Razvozov expressed Israel’s support for the Greek initiative.

The Greek minister also had a number of meetings with Israeli tourism market executives, representatives of airline companies and tour operators on the sidelines of the IMTM 2022 tourism fair in Tel Aviv.

Airline CEOs agreed to increase flights to Greek destinations in 2022, while Arkia Israeli Airlines announced a new service to Volos.

At the crux of the minister’s meetings was a further increase of tourism flows from Israel to Greece and especially to areas of historical significance for Israelis, such as Thessaloniki, as well as promoting cruise tourism and extending the stays of Israeli visitors, combined with alternative forms of tourism.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.