The unique advantage of wine tourism in Greece, which offers a complete tourism experience, was highlighted by the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Giorgos Georgantas, in his address at the “Wine Tourism: the next day” event, organized by “Achaic Development” at the Achaia Claus facility.

The advantage of wine tourism in Greece is that vineyards that have been cultivated since ancient times are located in beautiful natural landscapes, near archeological sites and sanctuaries.

Mr. Georgantas referred to the important contribution of his Ministry supported through the Leader programs, noting that a significant part of the Recovery Fund is directed to actions that strengthen agritourism, while the Agrotourism program with a total budget of 100 million euros is in a pre-publication stage.

Interventions through Leader

At the same time, the Ministry of Regional Development has made 89 interventions for 50 wineries, through the Leader program.

In the 31 years of the European Agricultural Fund, Leader supported 216  investments for wineries, covering 50% -75% of cosst.

Referring to the proposal for an Inter-regional Wine Tourism Program, the Minister said that it can be implemented through the conversion of visitable wineries into “nodes” connecting the local primary sector with tourism, but planning is necessary.

Investments

Mr. Georgantas made special reference to the investments that wine tourism can attract and to the jobs that it can create, through the support from local communities using actions that promote the tradition and culture of each region, thus contributing to expanding the tourism season.