A memorandum of cooperation on religious tourism was signed yesterday between the Tourism Ministry and the Church of Greece. Tourism Minister Olga Kefaloyanni noted the importance of faith tourism as the most dynamic type of thematic tourism, which has really gained momentum, since not only Christians, but people of other faiths are also interested in coming to Greece.

Thus, its promotion can boost employment and economic growth in  local communities. On his part, the head of the Synodic Bureau of Pilgrimage Tours of the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Chryssostomos of Dodoni, noted that the signing of the memorandum confirms the state's interest in the development of religious tourism,  which focuses on the promotion of the country's religious, historic and cultural wealth combined with  raising environmental awareness.

In October 2012, the Church of Greece and the Church of Moscow signed a cooperation agreement for the development and promotion of pilgrimage tourism, and similar collaborations are in the pipeline with the Orthodox Churches of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Albania.

Ministry of Tourism: Press Release (in Greek)