E.X. Messinias | Ready to assist any initiative that will highlight our place
Source: Tornos News
“We act as ambassadors of a Homeland that, although it has forgotten us, does not turn its back on it. We are by its side in every effort and remain ready to assist in any initiative that will highlight our place. This is the message we are sending out today. And we hope that it will be heard”.
This is underlined in the message for World Tourism Day by the president of the Messinia Hoteliers’ Association, Dimitris Karalis.
The statement in detail:
“World Tourism Day finds the world in constant uncertainty and concern. Geopolitical unrest and the negative influences on citizens’ income due to energy and living costs in Greece and abroad have limited travel both in terms of overnight stays and spending. At the same time, hospitality businesses in our country are suffocating under the weight of ever-increasing operating costs, fighting to maintain acceptable levels of quality service provision, despite the fact that the lack of support from the State continues to devalue the value of the sector.
And all this, at a time when Tourism continues to be a pillar of support for the national economy, since in the first half of 2025 alone the surplus of travel services amounted to approximately 6 billion euros, covering a large part of the total deficit of the balance current transactions.
However, along with the limitation in overnight stays and average per capita expenditure, there is also a shift of the traveling public to less known or even underestimated tourist areas. The reasons are obvious: Acquaintance with new destinations with an expanded tourist product that covers a large part of the demand and the new trends that are taking shape internationally.
Messinia and the entire Peloponnese meet these conditions. And, as we have repeatedly emphasized, they have all the guarantees to become visitable places, not only in the main summer period but also in the so-called “Shoulder Seasons”, from April and May to October and November. The combination of mountain and sea, the significant cultural and historical reserve, the picturesqueness of the landscape, and even the gastronomic tradition of the region, are elements capable of “meeting” every interest, every requirement and expectation of the prospective visitor, regardless of origin, age stratification and family status.
However, our region is not only underestimated as a destination. It is also underestimated by the State and the Local Government that insist on ignoring a “sleeping giant” condemning it to a humiliating 2% of the country’s tourism revenues. The lack of a clear strategic orientation with targeting and commitment, the poverty in basic infrastructure projects, mainly those of the implementation of road axes and the modernization of Kalamata airport and the exclusion of small and medium-sized hotel businesses from financial tools, are some of the examples of the abandonment of a region that could raise the bar of Greek tourism.
World Tourism Day, nevertheless, finds us standing. We fight with faith in what we serve. And we act as ambassadors of a Homeland that, although it has forgotten us, we do not turn our backs on it. We stand by every effort and remain ready to assist in any initiative that will highlight our country. This is the message we are sending out today. And we hope that it will be heard.”
The original article: belongs to Tornos News .
