TUI and Greek government want to make Rhodes a sustainable travel destination | Abroad

The “Co-Lab Rhodes” project aims to make the island “the most important sustainable tourist destination in the world” in the next five years, said regional governor George Chatzimarkos. The German-British tour group and the government will try sustainable innovations in various areas, which can then serve as an example for other destinations. The first projects are about waste processing and water purification.

It is not clear how much money TUI and the government are pumping into the project. The governor spoke of a budget of more than 100 million euros for the first projects. For future projects, the initiators are also counting on money from the European Recovery Fund (RRF), which focuses on green investments.

Tourism is of great importance to the Greek economy. On Rhodes, the sector even accounts for 97 percent of the local gross domestic product (GDP), Governor Chatzimarkos emphasized.

But TUI also has an interest in the collaboration. According to TUI CEO Fritz Joussen, the government in Greece has handled the corona crisis excellently. He believes that Greece will be the winner of the post-corona era, with a growing market share.

Last year, according to Joussen, TUI brought 1.5 million tourists to Greece. There were more than expected. “Our prospects are very good: before the crisis we brought 2.8 to 2.9 million customers to Greece. We expect more this year: we are going to more than 3 million. The South Aegean region is very important in this respect, especially Rhodes,” said Joussen.