With the Greek tourism hotspot having been nominated for a high title on the World Journey Awards, Breaking Journey Information right here sits down with Attica regional governor, George Patoulis, to seek out out extra.
Breaking Journey Information: Are you able to inform our readers who could be unfamiliar with the area of Attica what’s on supply there? The vacation spot is centred on Athens, however there’s much more to see?
George Patoulis: What has Attica obtained to supply? Attica is a area distinctive in its range!
A spot the place historic, cultural and pure wealth merge with trendy city life to make a rare expertise for travellers at any time of 12 months.
A metropolis for the fashionable period, providing distinctive alternatives for everybody!
From Elefsina all the way down to the temple of Sounio and the port of Lavrio, from the islands of the Saronic gulf all the best way to Kithira, the customer can uncover historic monuments, expertise the fantastic thing about nature alongside picturesque trails, savour beautiful flavours courtesy of its fertile land and style wines of outstanding high quality.
It combines beautiful mountains and forests with unimaginable seashores, mere minutes away from the town.
Its city neighbourhoods are lively and distinctive character and only a hop from the bustling port metropolis of Piraeus awaits the cosmopolitan environment of the Greek Islands.
The day holds numerous sightseeing and procuring choices, the night time is assured to supply a energetic and vibrant vary of leisure.
Each traveller is welcomed not solely to go to and uncover however to turn into part of Attica’s distinctive id and way of life.
The area of Attica, with intensive actions and initiatives, contributes to the implementation of strict well being protocols, to make sure that our guests are protected and free to get pleasure from our vacation spot to the total.
BTN: How would you describe the temper in Greek tourism as we head into the 2021 excessive season? Is there optimism the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is previous?
GP: The previous couple of months have been unprecedented and troublesome for our nation and, after all, for Attica.
We confronted a very extreme well being disaster, which we had been known as upon to handle with out having any information of how a lot worse it would turn into or how lengthy it would final.
We would have liked to adapt to a brand new actuality, with substantial limitations in most of our each day actions.
The journey sector and the tourism business had been among the many first to be considerably hit by the pandemic and turn into topic to restrictions.
A brand new panorama for tourism has emerged within the post-Covid-19 period, requiring a unique perspective and revolutionary approaches to policy-making and public initiatives.
We’ve got come by a troublesome interval and, with the assistance of science and vaccination, can begin trying with optimism to the way forward for our nation, which naturally contains our personal area of Attica.
We must always not overlook that Attica boasts many stand-out options that make it much more enticing as a vacation spot, in addition to an abundance of untapped potential.
By means of its distinctive mixture of city, semi-urban and coastal areas, its wealthy cultural heritage, its nice points of interest and its huge array of experiences, the vacation spot of Attica has a extremely promising future forward.
A brand new wave of investments and a collection of bold tasks, a few of that are already underway, are going to capitalize on our present benefits and seriously change and improve the picture and id of Attica.
BTN: What measures are in place to maintain company protected as they start to return to Attica after the enforced break in tourism?
GP: For all of us within the area of Attica, safeguarding the well being of residents and guests is of the utmost significance.
In mild of this, tourism now works hand in hand with epidemiological monitoring and scientific recommendation, leading to essential ongoing actions and initiatives.
Regardless of the issues attributable to the pandemic, we work systematically to make sure public well being and security and to make travelling into Attica as easy and pleasurable a course of as attainable, adapting our Covid-19-related initiatives to the necessities of the worldwide tourism market.
Essentially the most essential security issue for Attica is the vaccination price, which has already surpassed 80 per cent for its islands and vacationer areas, whereas the vaccination protection for the area as a complete is growing by the day.
What’s essential is that the Attica area is able to welcome its guests to expertise its “cosmopolitan allure” and the number of choices on supply.
We are going to proceed to intently monitor the state of affairs and safeguard public well being on the islands and alongside the shoreline of Attica all through the vacationer season, so that every one guests really feel protected to go to its distinctive points of interest and take part in its actions.
BTN: What’s new within the area for summer time 2021 – have you ever welcomed any new properties or points of interest you might be eager to share with our viewers?
GP: Attica is a contemporary metropolis, which is consistently evolving and renewing itself.
This 12 months, which marks 200 years for the reason that starting of the Greek Struggle of Independence, we had the pleasure of finishing a venture of nice significance for the town of Athens.
The brand-new Nationwide Gallery is a contemporary and really elegant museum, a placing cultural house, connecting Greece’s wealthy previous with the current day.
It ought to be famous {that a} important a part of the €18 million that went into its restoration was coated by the area of Attica by the Attica Regional Operational Program, co-funded by the EU Cohesion Funds 2007-2013 and the Attica Regional Operational Program 2014-2020.
Contained in the Nationwide Gallery, guests can get pleasure from a singular part with reveals depicting the course of the Greek Revolution, which commenced in 1821.
We’re delighted that this particular 200-year anniversary exhibition takes its rightful spot because the centrepiece of the brand new gallery till the top of this historic 12 months, after which it’ll make method for a everlasting assortment supposed for a similar house.
On high of this, with funding from the area of Attica, we accomplished work on the constructing complicated of the Ziller-Loverdos Mansion, which is a department of the Byzantine Museum.
Certainly, the constructing itself is an architectural, historic, cultural and technological landmark that has made a substantial contribution to the city physiognomy of Athens.
BTN: Lastly, the area of Attica has been nominated for the title of Europe’s Leading Seaside Metropolitan Destination 2021. How essential is that this title for the vacation spot? How essential is that this title for the vacation spot?
GP: Because the governor of the area of Attica, I’ve the pleasure of seeing Attica on the listing of nominations with high international coastal vacationer locations within the World Journey Awards, a extremely prestigious establishment within the tourism business.
It’s a distinctive distinction, and much more so contemplating that we are actually rubbing shoulders with locations like Barcelona, Venice, Istanbul, Lisbon, Porto and Dubrovnik.
This nomination provides us the power and inspiration to proceed the laborious work and to maintain our efforts to modernise and showcase all the shoreline of Attica, as a part of our plans for the area as a complete.
Extra Data
A contemporary European metropolis, beautiful cultural wealth, an unimaginable shoreline, well-known vineyards and cosmopolitan islands – the area of Attica has all of it.
Discover out extra about visiting on the official website.
