Greece has undoubtedly been established as one of the leading tourist destinations over the last years, seeing the tourism inflows from all over the world soaring, the latter contributing substantially to Greek economy, jobs creation and regional development. According to recent estimates, Greece is expected to receive 35mil. tourists this year, the highest ever figure in its history.
Greece now combines its unique Nature and landscapes, history and culture with highly efficient infrastructure, transports and services as well as specialized tourism products. Thus, the particular identity of each location is promoted, making our country an all-seasons tourism destination.
Every country, however, faced with rampant tourist inflows is also faced with great challenges regarding threats to biodiversity, habitats, solid and liquid waste management and the protection of natural and cultural heritage.
The new reality calls for initiatives and investments aimed at promoting practices friendly to the environment and sustainable tourism and improving life quality for local societies.
I am extremely glad for the fact that the complex environmental problems are at the heart of global debate, as they were at the top of the agenda of the 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable, held at Lagonissi on July 2nd to 4th, that I had the pleasure and honor to attend.
The Conference demonstrated what is likely the greatest challenge vis-à-vis the environment and sustainable development, i.e. to what extent world leaders realize the urgency of the matter, to what extent they set it as an immediate priority and are willing to swiftly commit and take action towards facing this challenge.
One of the main subjects of the Conference was also the geopolitical order and the way financial aspects of sustainability can have an impact on countries such as Greece, individually. Another one was our fragile environment and how all these factors combined can affect our traditional political structures: EU and NATO. Our government has taken serious measures for the protection of the environment and the maintenance of our position in these geopolitical structures. We, on the other hand, acting as responsible citizens, must adopt these good practices, so as to bequeath a sustainable future to next generations.
Embarking upon our vacations in this wonderful country, let us all adopt environment-friendly practices and let us encourage our visitors do the same. By protecting our natural and cultural heritage we bequeath to future generations the sheer pleasure and summer experience Greece offers and also secure the long-term prosperity of local communities.
Every action towards this end starts from each and every one of us.
I wish you a nice summer!
