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Kefalogianni participated as an invited speaker in a ministerial roundtable organised by the UN World Tourism Organization, highlighting Greece\u2019s policies to strengthen resilience to the climate crisis, improve destination management and diversify the country\u2019s tourism offering.<\/p>\n
The minister travelled with Greece\u2019s Ambassador to Japan Olga Kliamaki and Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development Vassiliki Koutsoukou.<\/p>\n
Kefalogianni highlighted government initiatives aimed at distributing tourist flows more evenly through the development of thematic tourism and the modernisation of the regulatory framework and infrastructure supporting it.<\/p>\n
She placed particular emphasis on mountain, maritime and diving tourism, as well as gastronomic and wine tourism, thermal tourism and wellness tourism.<\/p>\n
Greece seeks stronger air links with Japan<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n During her stay in Tokyo, Kefalogianni held a series of meetings with institutional representatives and executives from Japan\u2019s travel industry.<\/p>\n The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral tourism relations, increasing travel between Greece and Japan, improving air connectivity and promoting cultural tourism in the Japanese market.<\/p>\n During a meeting with Japan Airlines (JAL) Vice President Ross Leggett, Kefalogianni stressed the importance of developing partnerships to strengthen air connectivity through direct flights between Greece and Japan.<\/p>\n She also highlighted the significant increase in travel to Greece, which exceeded 43 million visitors in 2025, including cruise passengers, and pointed to the strong momentum in Greek tourism in 2026 despite the impact of the Middle East crisis.<\/p>\n Kefalogianni also met Taro Kono, the Japanese chair of the Japan-Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group and a former foreign and defence minister.<\/p>\n The two sides noted that 2024, designated the Year of Culture and Tourism between Greece and Japan, represented an important bilateral initiative that strengthened cultural ties and increased tourism flows between the two countries.<\/p>\n They also discussed ways to further increase travel between Greece and Japan, particularly by promoting direct air connectivity, as well as strengthening cooperation in crisis management, tourism education and cultural tourism.<\/p>\n Greece promotes lesser-known destinations<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Kefalogianni met Japan Tourism Commissioner Norio Kimura and presented Greece\u2019s strategy for promoting its tourism offering.<\/p>\n She highlighted the Greek National Tourism Organisation\u2019s continued presence at Japan\u2019s largest tourism exhibition and emphasised Greece\u2019s natural environment and cultural heritage, alongside efforts to promote lesser-known destinations.<\/p>\n The two sides discussed ways to increase tourism flows between Greece and Japan and expand bilateral cooperation under the existing memorandum of understanding between the two countries.<\/p>\n The agreement promotes coordination between the two governments as well as tourism industry bodies.<\/p>\n Culture and wine feature in Greek tourism push<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n During her visit, Kefalogianni also visited the National Museum of Tokyo, where she met its Director General Makoto Fujiwara, a former deputy minister for education, culture, sports, science and technology.<\/p>\n Fujiwara referred to the 2023 exhibition \u201cHeritages of Beauty: Archaeological Treasures from Japan\u201d, which took place at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Crete.<\/p>\n Kefalogianni, who has roots in Crete, described the exhibition as an important starting point for cultural cooperation between Greece and Japan.<\/p>\n She also highlighted the importance of closer cooperation between museums in the two countries, particularly given the strong shared interest in culture among the Greek and Japanese peoples.<\/p>\n Kefalogianni said culture represents a key pillar in strengthening mutual travel interest between Greece and Japan.<\/p>\n The minister also met Atsuko Aoyama, the Ambassador of Greek Wine in Japan, to discuss opportunities to promote wine tourism and Greek wine in the Japanese market.<\/p>\n The discussions covered promotional initiatives through the new official VisitGreece.gr travel portal, familiarisation trips to Greece for sommeliers, and the promotion of Greek wine and wine tourism through informational material in Japanese.<\/p>\n Greece presents tourism investment opportunities<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Kefalogianni also gave interviews to major Japanese media outlets, including the widely circulated business newspaper Nikkei and Kyodo News.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Koutsoukou held meetings with Japanese investment and tourism representatives, including members of the Keidanren Secretariat and a director and board member of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).<\/p>\n The meetings presented tourism investment opportunities across different regions of Greece, based on the country\u2019s Special Spatial Framework for Tourism.<\/p>\n The participants also agreed to work with the Greek National Tourism Organisation to develop more targeted travel experiences tailored to the needs of the Japanese market.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n