ATHENS – Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias on Monday spoke of very positive signals daily coming from international and European organisations that point to a continuous improvement and the rising strength of brand “Greece”, in an interview with ANT1 TV on Monday.

Kikilias cited a World Travel Market survey, in which six Greek destinations are among the top ten for the greatest increases relative to 2019, with Mykonos and Rhodes recording increases of 29 percent, followed by Chania, Iraklion, Santorini and Chalkidiki, while Athens was very high (3rd) in urban tourism.

Additionally, Greece posted the highest increase of all other foreign destination for the Independence Day holiday.

Equally importantly, Greek destination that do not have a strong brand were showcased this year, resulting in high occupancy rates and reservations reaching until the end of the year.

Finally, Kikilias stated that the people of Turkey are not affected by their leadership’s rhetoric and this is reflected in the number of tourists that visit the Greek islands. He noted that many islands of the eastern Aegean, such as Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Symi, Chalki and Rhodes, are full of tourists from Turkey, especially after the opening of the daily routes that link the southeastern Aegean with the Asia Minor coast.