Greek financial commentator Giorgos Kraloglou has warned that Athens is failing to capitalise on the country's strong tourism performance, arguing in a column for Capital.gr that proposals from tourism businesses for better infrastructure and transport remain stuck inside government departments a year after they were first raised.
Kraloglou wrote that both government and opposition figures who insist tourism is in excellent shape should look more closely at the issue. He said the government in particular should revisit all the material it was given a year ago following a wide-ranging conference at which proposals for the sector's role in Greece's overall economic growth were discussed.
Infrastructure proposals left unaddressed
According to Kraloglou, suggestions from tourism businesses on infrastructure, transport and facilities meant to boost competitiveness in what he called the leading and unique pillar of the Greek economy with a strong future have stayed on government shelves. He said there are fears the delay amounts to procrastination on the whole issue.
He said he did not intend to list every shortcoming of government policy on tourism. He noted only that as the 2026 tourist season draws toward its end, it will run into what he described as the energy "dragons" preparing to devour any positive momentum in Greece's finances.
Investment gap approaching 2030
Kraloglou pointed to a second reason for addressing tourism policy now: investment. He said Greece's investment gap has probably exceeded 150 billion euros, and that 2030 is the year that worries observers as that gap draws closer.
He argued that because the investments Greece needs, in a form that would actually be useful, have not materialised since 2010, attention should now turn exclusively to tourism. He said other areas of production, whether agricultural or industrial, have effectively become empty talk.
Kraloglou said that within this month, or October at the latest, government measures on energy and production costs, which he said the administration will present as achievements even though much of it remains promises, will not reverse a pattern of disinvestment that has persisted for more than two decades. He said this reflects continued indifference among foreign corporate groups toward Greece as an opportunistic investment destination.
He said the government is well aware of this but that its pre-election messaging still includes promotional claims about Greece's investment prospects.
Tourism as the remaining opening
Kraloglou said that if the debate is to stay grounded in reality, focus should not move even slightly away from the tangible business openings that Greece still offers. He said that today, and for the three years through 2030, those openings do not extend beyond tourism and services, even as inflation continues to affect those sectors and the wider economy.
He concluded that Greek tourism is ready from a business standpoint, with enough opportunities for those who see a future in it. But he said the sector needs a dedicated policy, backed by every part of Greece's political establishment, provided that policy does not act purely to collect revenue and instead accounts for the development needs of whichever investment targets ultimately take shape. He closed by asking whether he was wrong to say so.
