The contribution of health tourism to the economic recovery of the country in the post-covid era, as well as to the potential of Greece to become a completely safe travel destination, was underlined by the Attica Regional Governor and President of ELITOUR George Patoulis in the Delphi Economic Forum, during a fireside chat discussion under the title “Thematic tourism and development prospects”.
The discussion, moderated by ALPHA journalist Michalis Kefalogiannis, was attended by the CEO of the Athens Medical Group, Vasilis Apostolopoulos, member of the Board of ELITOUR.
“Do not turn a blind eye and do not lose the target: Health Tourism is a strong asset in our hands, as it can add a total of about 13.6 billion euros to the country’s GDP and create 173,000 new jobs in the next five years,” said the Attica Regional Governor and added: “As President of the Greek Health Tourism Council – Elitour, I firmly believe that we are now ready to create a perspective in our tourism.”
Based on his experience as Vice President of the European Committee of the Regions, Mr. Patoulis set as a strategic direction “to record and prioritize the goals of each Region, each Municipality based on its geographical location, its medical structures, all its benefits. In that way, a clear picture of a Greece ‘mapped’ in the health services will be presented”.
Concluding his speech, Mr. Patoulis stressed that all stakeholders must take the necessary initiatives to make the most of the profit that will result for the country’s economy: “Maybe it will be the great opportunity that we will provide to the young people, who has left Greece due to the economic crisis, to come back and have significant carrier opportunities in their homeland”.
