Greek tourism minister promises no war on all-inclusives
Greece’s new tourism minister has acted quickly to calm fears that the country will limit all-inclusive resorts after new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said they were bad for local economies.
Elena Kountoura, a former athlete who is now part of the right-wing Independent Greeks party in Tsipras’s coalition government, promised there would be no action against existing all-inclusive hotels.
"On the contrary, further upgrading the quality of these packages will boost and extend benefits in local markets and communities," she said.
Tsipras, leader of the anti-austerity party Syriza, had suggested prior to his election this week that he wanted to curb mass tourism to Greece with a return to more traditional holidays, where visitors use local bars and restaurants.
Spekaing to the New York Times, he said all-inlcusives kept tourists within hotels and away from local businesses. He suggested that private developers who had bought government-owned land to build all-inclusives might see their licences revoked.
However, all-inclusive hotels contributed £1.5 billion to the Greek economy last year and Kountoura said this week: "No action will be taken against all-inclusive products."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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