ATHENS – “Tourism is – and rightly – the great economic power of the country,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Monday in the interview with Skai radio 100.3, adding that the government expects significant revenues in 2022 from the sector.

Kikilias referred extensively to the optimistic messages for this year’s tourist season, both in terms of reservations and the level of first arrivals in the country, citing the example of increased tourist flows from the US.

“We have never had 500,000 travelers directly from the US to Eleftherios Venizelos and Athens with the first flight on March 7 from Atlanta, Chicago, Boston with all the three American companies,” he said.

From the US alone, 9 flights a day will be conducted, a number that corresponds to 63 flights a week, while – as he said – there seems to be the possibility of direct flights to the major US airports of America and Thessaloniki.