THE ROLE OF REGIONAL TOURISM AUTHORITIES IN TOURISM POLICY MONITORING – THE CASE OF GREEK RTOS

Abstract

Over the last decade, Russia’s national income has been constantly growing, which has resulted in the
increase in outbound Russian tourism. As Russian tourists are sought-after in tourist destinations due to
their high consumer expenditure, Russia is emerging as a new source tourist market especially for the
countries of the Mediterranean, like Greece.
Greece’s objective is to attract as many Russian tourists as possible and for this reason it has been trying to
develop the Greek-Russian relations. As for the tourism sector, Greece is attempting to promote its tourist
product in Russia and convince Russian citizens of its quality and attractiveness.  For the achievement of
this objective a specific administrative unit, with exclusive competence in the tourism sector, has been
founded in Moscow. This unit is staffed with specialized executives and it is supervised by the Greek
National Tourism Organization (GNTO). This administrative unit is called Office of the GNTO in
Moscow.
This article aims to study the structure, organization and function of the Greek tourism office in Moscow,
by analysing and assessing its activities. One of its goals is the submission of proposals that will map out
the appropriate tourism policy, which will enhance Greece’s competitiveness among the Mediterranean
countries and will result in gaining a bigger share in the Russian tourism market.