Page 8 - iGreece_Athens WTAAA 2022

Βy Kostas Bakoyiannis,

Mayor of Athens

It is a great pleasure to wel- for its quality of life. I am also confident because we
have not used all of our capacity in hotel accommoda-
come to Athens so many tions. Even when we introduce regulations on short-
thought-leaders in the global term rentals like AirBNB – and we will do so in order
to better manage the supply – we will not surpass the
tourism industry. capabilities of Athens to safely and warmly welcome
visitors. So, I believe it is within our reach to set a new

I am especially grateful for this opportunity to record and to continue maturing as a destination.
expand the conversation about Athens, both to share
ideas with our stakeholders and also to recognize the An important part of the puzzle is to encourage
travel and tourist agents from throughout the world visitors to stay longer. Up to now, the average stay
who are the ambassadors for Athens and part of our of a tourist in Athens doesn’t pass 2-2.5 days. Our goal
success. I would dare to say, you are also part of the is to lengthen their stay to 3-4 days. At the same time,
future of tourism in which we are all deeply connected, we have other ambitious goals. We want tourism that
and we will call on you to help us adapt to the major helps us reach our goal of reducing carbon emissions by
challenges we are all about to face. 61% by 2030. We have already received an assessment
from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which
At the moment, however, I am very pleased. We gave Athens an excellent rating for the progress we
are nearing the end of a crucial year for Athens when have made.
we have had the rare privilege to enjoy the fruits of our
endurance during the pandemic. We have seen visitor Of course, we are not doing this work alone, we
traffic recover, but more importantly, we have been are investing in partnerships. The City of Athens has
experiencing an incredible spirit in Athens, great vibes, created a vehicle for private-public partnerships called
optimism and pride in spite of the daily news updates. the Athens Partnership which has already completed
Based on this feeling, the international news coverage, many significant projects, especially the restoration
and some major international awards, we believe we and creation of dozens of city parks. Today we can say
will be looking at a new record of arrivals and earnings that Athens is cleaner than ever – even if we haven’t
in 2023. We have this faith in spite of the strong head- reached the point we want – the city is cleaner than
winds blowing against us – everyday life is becoming any time since the Olympic Games in 2004. Today we
more expensive, fuel is getting more expensive, we ex- are not only known for the Acropolis, our hospitality
pect to have a difficult winter ahead. and great food. We are also known for the profession-
alism of our organization.
I am confident about 2023 because of what we have
seen so far – Greece is now among the most desir- We are proceeding with a long effort to rebuild our
able destinations in the world, not only for tourism but infrastructure, including the creation of pocket parks,

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