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Maritime and Coastal Tourism

Commission supports Maritime and Coastal Tourism and assists SMEs to access markets in Greece

Coastal and maritime tourism is one of the key drivers for creating growth and new jobs in Europe, and in particular in our coastal areas which often suffer from high unemployment.

Small and medium sized enterprises in Greece, including many operating in the costal tourism sector, have been hit hard by the economic crisis. They face many challenges that require adapting to new ways of doing business, accessing markets and funding. Tourism, as the “heavy industry” of Greece and maritime and coastal tourism and blue growth, represents a unique opportunity to re-ignite Greece’s SME’s and its path to growth and competitiveness. To explore the tourism sector’s potential to create growth and new jobs, yesterday in Athens European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Maria Damanaki, the Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras and the Greek Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni opened a High Level conference on Maritime and Coastal Tourism.

Today a Commission led “Mission for growth” will also bring representatives of about 145 European companies to Greece, to participate in bilateral meetings with 330 SMEs from across Greece with the aim to form new partnerships and discuss opportunities for collaboration.


Greek Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni opened a High Level conference on Maritime and Coastal Tourism.

Maritime and Coastal Tourism
Coastal and maritime tourism is one of the key drivers for creating growth and new jobs in Europe, and in particular in our coastal areas which often suffer from high unemployment. Coastal and maritime tourism is a pillar of the overarching “Blue Growth” strategy and has a potential to create growth and new jobs, particularly in areas with high unemployment. It is the largest maritime economic activity and the main economic driver in many coastal regions. It employs almost 3.2 million people, generating a total of 183 billion euros in gross value added and representing over one third of the maritime economy. As the largest maritime economic activity and the economic backbone of many of our coastal regions the Commission seeks to help this sector develop and prosper.

The Commission has just presented a new strategy to enhance coastal and maritime tourism in Europe. It proposes 14 Actions to enable coastal regions and business to tackle the challenges and make a quantum leap in order to exploit opportunities for growth and jobs sustainably. The new strategy also calls on industry stakeholders, Regions and Member States to take up the challenges and complement the EU actions.

Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | Website | + Posts

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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