16th March, 2012
Open letter to
Mr Lucas Papademos, Prime Minister, Greece
Mr Evangelos Venizelos, Finance Minister, Greece
Mr Pavlos Yeroulanous, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Greece
Respective members of the Troika
Our three organisations represent the UK travel industry - 844 tour operators and 3,547 travel
agents. Many of our members actively sell holidays to Greece and have known and loved
Greece for many years; some specialise exclusively in holidays to Greece.
You must be aware that, over the last eight weeks or so, there have been many negative and
irresponsible comments made around the world by politicians, financial pundits and journalists
regarding the future of Greece.
On several occasions, the same people who have been
working to solve the country’s problems have also been responsible for off-the-cuff negative
comments which have served to undermine their own work to find a solution. Very positive
progress has been made in order to put the financial rescue package in place, but any hope of
growth is constantly undermined by these thoughtless and continued negative comments.
There is no doubt that Greek citizens are now having to shoulder a financial burden which
would strike fear into the population of any other European member state. Fears are being
voiced that the very harsh measures that have been put in place in order to reduce the country's
debt will lead to further negative growth and a continuation of the recession that has gripped
Greece for the last five years. The human cost is high: this will cause a good deal of personal
misery for people who have lost their jobs, their pensions and perhaps also their homes, and
who see no future for their children.
Tourism represents 18% of the country's gross national product and, as the country’s biggest
export, tourism is the key sector of the economy which will be responsible for breaking the
downward spiral.
However, as a result of the constant negative publicity focused on Greece (which consumers
see as not just Athens but the islands too), consumers in the UK are choosing alternative
destinations in which to holiday in 2012. Such a large decline in visitors from a major market
will further damage recovery of the Greek economy.
Action must be taken immediately – and, when we say immediately, we mean in the next few
weeks - to unlock funds for the promotion of Greece in the United Kingdom. We ask that the
normal, monumental bureaucracy which surrounds Greek Governmental procedures iscircumvented in this instance so that a positive promotional campaign, pointing out that Greece
is safe and that it has so much to offer the holidaymaker, can commence immediately.
Our tour operator members ask you, please, to match funds that we have still to spend
on marketing holidays to Greece, euro for euro. If you match our own promotional
spend, this will double the marketing effect of whatever Greece itself spends. It is also
vital to appoint a public relations agency with a brief to change the perception of Greece
as an unstable destination to visit for holidaymakers.
If funds for PR and promotional activity are not immediately forthcoming, then flight and
accommodation capacity will be cancelled by UK tour operators because they are currently
simply unable to sell the normal volume of holidays to Greece. They will risk their own
continued existence if they don’t take such difficult steps speedily.
Greece needs positive promotion now and not in three months’ time, when it will be too
late.
This open letter asks you take immediate action if you really wish to safeguard the future of the
Greek people and of Greece itself.
Yours faithfully,
MARK TANZER DEREK MOORE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
ON BEHALF OF ABTA & FTO ON BEHALF OF AITO
