The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has selected several areas of the UNWTO “Technical Assistance Package for Tourism Recovery Covid-19″ to help Greece’s tourism sector recover from the impacts of the pandemic. There are three main pillars of intervention: economic recovery, marketing and promotion, institutional strengthening and resilience building.
Four projects for the tourism sector
UNWTO and EBRD, in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Tourism and a team of experts in crisis management, statistics, marketing and SMEs, specifically identified four projects aimed at supporting the Greek tourism sector through targeted investments or funding that promote sustainable and inclusive tourism and increase youth employment and backward linkages with local economies. Here they are in detail.
- Measuring the impact of Covid-19 and developing guidelines for monitoring: 10 focus areas and 25 actions for improved monitoring were identified, and training was provided to 7 representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, the Bank of Greece, and the Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- Preparation of a roadmap to support tourism SMEs and job retention: 41 tourism professionals, travel agents, hotels, and secondary accommodation facilities were trained on a range of topics, including digital marketing tools, human resource management, analysing tourism data to identify opportunities and improving the quality of services and the overall tourism experience.
- Updating the tourism marketing strategy: major trends in international and domestic markets were analysed both during and after the pandemic. Six areas of intervention were identified, and passenger survey questionnaires at Athens International Airport. The strategy was also presented at a seminar with the foreign offices of the Greek National Tourism Organisation.
- Development of a tourism crisis management plan: identifies various types of crises, outlines concrete response mechanisms, roles, and processes and introduces a case study simulation.
First results of the recovery package
Greece has, without a doubt, maintained its importance in the global tourism market and managed to resist during the long economic and financial crisis of the last decade, and the work carried out under the Tourism Recovery Package will allow the Ministry of Tourism to closely monitor the performance of the sector. The EBRD and UNWTO will remain active in the country to support the tourism development of local destinations through projects on the ground, while strengthening the close and ongoing cooperation with the country.
