According to the Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, during the past couple of years Greece had successive records while the tourism industry is developing into a catalyst for enhancing the Greek economy
During her speech at a conference on “Entrepreneurship in Crete and Attika, the Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni stated that “Tourism is a national affair” and added that “tourism must unite, compose and produce results for the good of the region and its people, for the good of Greece”.
Furthermore Ms Kefalogianni stated that the industry has recovered and that during the past couple of years Greece had successive records while the tourism industry is developing into a catalyst for enhancing the Greek economy.
According to Ms Kefalogianni, Athens will soon be transformed to a major tourist destination.
(source:protothema)
Rethymno – Mountros – Argyroupoli - Rethymno, 58 km. / Road Bicycle
More flights, new destinations, modern applications, extra comfort and affordable prices make the Lufthansa
experience a Greek experience with the airline announcing its new
schedule and upgraded services to Greece for the coming summer.
In 1922, Greece’s Bureau of Foreigners and Exhibitions is upgraded to a
‘Service’. In that year, under the heading Independent Travel without
Trouble, Thomas Cook’s Traveller’s Gazette begins: ‘Let us suppose one
is desirous of taking wife or family for a tour on the continent …’
In 1936, the Greek National Tourism Organisation is abolished by prime
minister Ioannis Metaxas. He orders all houses on the Cycladic islands
be whitewashed – for hygiene but also because he believed it made them
more picturesque.
This 1949 poster is from the time of the Marshall Plan, which provided
US aid to Europe after the second world war. A supreme council for
tourism is set up – but Greek finances are in disarray: ‘Since the
release of Greek territory from enemy occupation, the monetary system is
in a state of confusion,’ notes the Thomas Cook Continental Timetable.
By 1955, foreign tourist numbers to Greece have reached 200,000 – a
five-fold increase in five years. The average stay of the visitors is
one week.
In 1967, a Greek military junta – the ‘Regime of the Colonels’ – came to
power. For the first time, tourism numbers decline – by about 14% –
though they rebound the following year. In the UK, the government
imposes a £50 limit on the allowance for British citizens travelling
abroad.
Greece is one of the first destinations to be chosen by Britannia
Airways for its new Boeing 737 jet, with charters from Luton to Athens.
In 1968, Jacqueline Kennedy marries the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle
Onassis on the Ionian island of Skorpios. 
In 1980 there is evidence budget travel is flourishing, with the
publication of Europe: a Manual for Hitch-hikers. It says: ‘Greece is
one of the most beautiful countries on earth to get stranded for a few
hours.’ Greece joins the EU in 1981, and the latest James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only, features the monasteries of Meteora. 
In 1990 visitor numbers hit nine million for the first time, with some
tourists inspired by the movie Shirley Valentine, released the previous
year. Cephalonia features in Louis de Bernières’ 1994 novel Captain
Corelli’s Mandolin, about the Italian and German occupation of Greece in the second world war. 
Greece win the 2004 UEFA European Championship, beating the hosts
Portugal in the opening group match and again in the final. The
following month, Athens hosts the Olympic Games. Visitor numbers to
Greece are now more than 13 million.