Kefalogianni to visit Istanbul to discuss tourism initiatives

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni is to visit Istanbul on Monday. During her three-day stay, the minister will meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, visit the new Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) offices and have contacts with businesspeople and tourism-sector organizations, such as the Turkey Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB).

Kefalogianni is to inform the Ecumenical Patriarch about Greece’s international initiatives in the field of tourism as regards the environment and its protection. During the meeting they will also discuss the possibility of strengthening pilgrimage/religious tourism in Greece to places and monuments of religious importance that fall under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate.

The minister’s contacts with organizations and entrepreneurs active in the tourism sector are part of the revival of the bilateral tourism cooperation, following the Greece-Turkey High Level Cooperation Council held in Athens in December and the Joint Declaration on Tourism signed with her Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. [AMNA]