Saudi Arabia looks to ink tourism pact with Greece

Saudi Arabia and Greece will sign a major agreement here on Monday to boost cooperation in the tourism sector, as reported by Arab News. The pact will also look to generate growth in tourist traffic and offer opportunities to the southern European nation to showcase its tourism products and services in the local market. Greek tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni, who has been invited by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chief of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), will sign the accord on behalf of Greece. “The plan is to step up cooperation between Riyadh and Athens in all tourism-related areas,” said Greek ambassador Ioannis Christofilis. The Greek tourism minister will also hold talks with Prince Sultan including talks with top Saudi officials during her three-day visit to Riyadh, including Riyadh Gov Prince Khaled bin Bandar and Abdulaziz Khoja, culture and information minister. Greece’s plan to hold an EU-Arab summit will go a long way in providing solutions to regional issues affecting the two major blocs, he added. Christofilis said that tourism is one of the major components of Saudi-Greece relations and that about 13,000 Saudi citizens visited that country last year. In fact, tourism figures are set to rise to a record high in Greece this year, according to a new report. This will definitely ease the financial burden of debt-hit Greece, said the report. People now realize that Greece is a safe and pleasant holiday destination, it said, while referring to the several initiatives taken by Athens to promote tourism. Greece has also announced plans to offer residency permits to non-EU citizens, including Gulf investors, on purchasing or renting property. The tourism sector is very important for Greece, generating 12 billion euros in revenues, which has accounted for 17% of the country’s GDP during the last few years. Source: Travel Daily