Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias spoke about the contribution of Greek tourism and its added value to the Greek economy, entrepreneurship and mainly to trade, during his speech at a meeting of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry board.

“Tourism is not a matter for the few, it is a matter for the many. It is the locomotive of the Greek economy, as one in four euros of the country’s GDP comes, indirectly or directly, from tourism activity. It is one of the main business activities in Greece,” Kikilias pointed out during the meeting on Monday.

The minister referred especially to the retail and commerce sector, which is directly related to the tourism product and essentially makes up the largest part of the country’s mercantile community.

“We support the hotel industry, but also the hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens who are involved in trade – especially small and medium-sized businesses – manufacture, the various services that are directly interconnected with the tourism product,” he said.

As the minister stressed, “our strategy supports the traditional and dynamic branches of entrepreneurship. Within our arsenal is both attracting new investments in key sectors of the Greek economy, which will provide the boost needed by tourism, as well as strengthening our infrastructure and maintaining the quality of the tourism product being offered, which is linked with the carrying capacity.”

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.