Realising the potential of the India market, The Island of Crete, Greece recently organised a travel trade meet in Mumbai to showcase its composite tourism profile to the Indian market. Crete is the largest island in Greece with a coastline of 1046 km.
Speaking on the occasion, Michailis Vamiedakis, Commissioner of Tourism, Region of Crete said, “India is an evolving market with a rapidly growing middle class. As of now the arrivals from India is very small. We want to aggressively tap this market and create awareness about our destination. In 2016, we will organise more meetings with the travel trade in other major Indian cities. Also we will participate in major tourism fairs and exhibitions to increase our presence in India.”
This island, having enjoyed over 40 years of tourism development is still a destination not so popular amongst the Indian travellers. The island holds the distinction for possessing around 30 per cent of all 5-star beds in Greece, and 40 per cent of visitors being repeat guests.
Vamiedakis added, “As of now we are targeting the FIT’s, groups, incentives and wedding segment. We have a decent number of rooms on our island to cater to large groups. Also, we will surely provide certain incentives for the big groups. To further enhance the visa process, we are in touch with the Ministry of Tourism to increase the number of visa centres in India.”
Earlier this year, the Greece debt crisis had impacted almost all the different sectors, but tourism was one segment which experts felt won’t be affected. Vamiedakis says that tourism has played a major role in stabilising the economy in the Island of Crete. He added, “Tourism is one of the largest revenue contributing sectors in our nations GDP. Despite the Greece debt crisis, tourism has been leading its path independently and to an extent has helped in softening the crisis. The number of visa applications has not witnessed a downfall.”
In 2016, the Island of Crete plans to tap other Indian cities like Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, apart from Mumbai. Speaking about the first ever experience with the Indian travel trade, Vamiedakis stated, “It has been an absolute pleasure to visit India. We have been overwhelmed with the response that we have received from the travel trade. We look forward to be back soon and welcome Indian guests to the magnificent Island of Crete.”
