By Jamie White – Head of Communications

Leading tour operator, TUI Travel, plans to extend its summer season in Greece next year, along with the offer of new destinations in the region for tourists to visit.

This year, around two million tourists visited Greece with TUI, and the operator aims to increase this number by 10 per cent by starting the season earlier and finishing it later in 2015.

In total, the Greek tourism sector is expected to see a total of 21.5 million arrivals this year as the country seeks to drive economic recovery.

The decisions were made in meetings between TUI Chief Executive, Peter Long, Greece Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Tourism Development Minister Olga Kefaloyianni.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) in Athens, Mr Long said he was proud of the relationship with Greece and plans to continue to invest in its future, working in close co-operation with the government.

Mr Long also called for a greater link between local producers and hotels to help boost local economic spend, improve airports, roads, cruise ports and marinas and increase overall customer satisfaction.

Mr Long added: “As a business, we will continue to provide unique holiday experiences using sustainable best practice and working with the local community to boost economic contribution.”