To promote domestic tourism, Greece will subsidise holidays for the unemployed

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis has presented a new plan for the promotion of domestic tourism.

To start with, there will be an increase in funding of the Greek Manpower Employment Organization’s (OAED) subsidised social tourism programme to 30 million euros. Second is a 10-million-euro tax relief programme for companies, so they in turn can provide holiday coupons to employees.

The third is bringing back the ‘Tourism for All’ programme with a 30 million-euro budget, which provides subsidised holidays for the unemployed, pensioners, and others who qualify due to low income.

Theoharis noted that some 70 million euros will be applied to domestic tourism in total.

He added that the ‘Tourism for All’ program was last implemented in 2013-2014 by the then New Democracy government, and currently concerns some 250,000 beneficiaries.

The government, said the minister, is planning to expand the programme to include as many hotels as is possible.