Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni met with the Japanese Ambassador, Nakayama Yasunori, ahead of the Greece-Japan Year of Culture and Tourism 2024.
Kefalogianni referred to the strengthening of tourism cooperation between Greece and Japan amid the new phase of development of bilateral relations that was sealed during the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Tokyo last January and reflected in the Joint Statement of Strategic Cooperation between Greece and Japan.
The Japanese Ambassador confirmed the importance that his country attaches to this relationship and to the commitment to implementing a series of actions within the framework of the Greece-Japan Year of Culture and Tourism 2024.
He also characterized Japan’s participation in Posidonia 2024 as ‘emblematic.’ The Japan Tourism Agency looks forward to increasing tourist flows to Greece to pre-pandemic levels.
On her part, the Greek Tourism Minister pointed out the targeted institutional cooperation and the synergies of the public and private sectors in the tourism sector in view of the Greece-Japan Year of Culture and Tourism 2024. Strategic contacts and the adaptation of the rich product portfolio of Greek tourism to the preferences of Japanese visitors can give a boost to the trade balance of services of both countries, affecting at the same time business contacts.
On his part, Nakayama spoke about the potential of developing wine tourism for the Japanese market. As Kefalogianni explained, the profile of the Japanese tourist is aligned with cultural tourism, including culinary tourism and wine tourism, adding that these dynamics will be capitalized on during the Greece-Japan Year of Culture and Tourism 2024 for the benefit of tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
