The importance of proper information and training regarding the future of Greek tourism was extensively analyzed during an event organized by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation on Sunday, November 25, during the XENIA trade show.
A host of hoteliers attended the event organized by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) on Sunday , entitled “Information and Education: the future of Greek tourism.” During the course of the event, the Institute presented its key objectives as well as the findings of a study on Recycling and Solid-waste Management in Greek tourism businesses.
Specifically, Mr Aris Ikkos, Research Director of the Institute discussed the documentation mechanism and policy proposals. Specifically, he explained that the main thing today is destination development. He explained that “the coordinated effort the country has to make -with the cooperation of the Regions, municipalities and private sector actors- is the development of destinations, so that complex products are produced, combining many elements and creating new experiences for the visitor.”
Resource utilization
Following Mr Ikkos’ talk, Mr Michalis Kiriakidis, Head of Program, took the floor to discuss NSRF resources utilization. Mr Kiriakidis stated that the Institute collects and processes many quantitative and qualitative data from many sources (Unions, Bank of Greece, operators, professionals, etc.) and underlined the significant contribution of the Operational Program for Human Resource Development to the work of INSETE. He specifically stated that “as social partners we participate at the NSRF programs, both as collaborators and implementing bodies to the development of the sector. All these actions, whether they are financed by NSRF or by INSETE, are placed at the disposal of every Greek citizen and entrepreneur.” Finally, he referred to the INSETE training program, which is self-financed from Institute resources, in very specialized subjects.
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Mr Aris Ikkos, Research Director of INSETE. At the main photo, Mr Sotiris Milonas, Sustainability Adviser.
Study presentation
During the second part of the event, Mr Sotiris Milonas, Sustainability Adviser, presented the results of the study drawn by SETE, entitled “Information and Education: the future of Greek tourism.” Specifically, he explained that INSETE started creating some guidelines from the beginning of 2017, centering on three levels and addressing respectively: hotel businesses, yacht marinas, and transport companies. At the same time, educational guides have also been developed, useful tools that every tourism company can use for its own training in waste management.
It is worth noting that according to the presentation, the hospitality industry (together with cruises and foodservice) produce approximately 1 ton of waste per year. To these quantities, recycling amounts to approximately 250,000-300,000 tons, while organic waste amount to 200,000-250,000 tons a year. As Mr Milonas stated, modern waste management invests in the cyclical economy that reduces waste to a minimum and reuses, repairs, renovates and recycles existing materials and products. At the end of the presentation, an open discussion with the public took place, while Mr Grigoris Tasios, President of the Hellenic Hotel Federation and VP of the Greek Tourism Confederation, took the stage to thank the audience for attending the workshop and mentioned the difficulties faced by tourism businesses all across Greece, which although they follow standards of good environmental waste management, encounter barriers due to deficiencies at municipal and regional level.
