2024-07-16 10:58:19
“A big circle closes today for me. In a letter I sent to the Prime Minister, I informed him that I am leaving him Hellenic Tourism Organization“, informed on Monday and with his post the general secretary of the EOT, Dimitris Fragakis, without making public the reasons for his resignation in the relevant text.
Specifically, Mr. Fragakis states:
“I received the EOT in 2019 when Mr tourism achieved outstanding performance and I am handing it over with the tourism industry achieving its highest ever arrivals and revenue record this year.
This success did not come by chance as in recent years we have been faced with a series of crises, the biggest being the health crisis which has changed almost everything.
But through the adventures we experienced we came out stronger. The country’s image abroad has strengthened, while our tourism product itself has evolved significantly. In this collective, national effort, EOT left its mark.
We partnered with the private sector without preconceptions, we dared when necessary without second thoughts, we innovated by making a difference against the competition. We quickly adapted to the new data and in several cases we were the ones who shaped it. We built strong alliances abroad and built relationships of trust at home. All this with systematic work and an eye on society and the real economy.
We changed the Organization, modernized its operation and evolved – often against the current. EOT has grown stronger in these five years and is now appreciated and respected within and outside the borders. Perhaps this is the greatest legacy for the future.
In this course I was never afraid of responsibility. I undertook it fully, without denying it to failures and mistakes.
I will not write here in detail what we did during these years. In the next period I will publish a detailed account of the five years.
There are many people I want to thank, but space and time are not enough. I will mention only a few:
First of all, I would like to thank Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his trust, support and inspiration. It was my honor to serve his government.
I thank the political leaders of the Ministry of Tourism for their cooperation.
I thank the colleagues in my office who, with excessive patience and hard work, supported the great effort we made!
I also want to thank the president of the Organization’s Board of Directors, Angela Gerekou, with whom we worked excellently together, as well as the members of the Board of Directors.
I also owe thanks to the representatives of collective, professional and institutional tourism bodies throughout the country who together achieved a lot. I also owe thanks to regional governors and mayors, as well as MPs and executives of the New Democracy throughout Greece who supported us in difficult times.
I left for the end the executives of the EOT, its workers in Greece and abroad. I thank them personally and I owe them a lot! Words are too poor to express my gratitude to all these people with whom we have lived together so much.
I personally feel satisfied and fulfilled having completed a measurable task. I think that, at the right time, we ourselves must determine the time and the way we leave. And that time has come for me. After all, renewal is a condition for progress and success.”