Greece is seeking to become an all-year-round tourist destination by adding new itineraries and increasing investments in the sector, local media reported on Monday.

 

Greece has increased efforts to attract international tourists during low seasons, the Athens News Agency reported, citing Tourism Minister Fani Palli-Petralia, who made the remarks at the World Travel Market in London.

 

Greece is a favorite destination for international tourists, especially Europeans. But the winters witness few tourists from European countries.

 

The key to future success of the tourism sector also lay in more investments, Palli-Petralia said.

 

"Procedures for private investment need to be eased, and we have to solve all the bureaucratic problems more rapidly," she noted.

 

A major slice of the European Union (EU) funds for 2007-2013 would be utilized to promote travel, tourism, and leisure activities, she said.

 

A total of 460 domestic and foreign requests for investment in the tourism sector have been raised since April 2005, totaling 917 million euros (US$1,179 million), the minister said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2006)