Tourist arrivals will reach 16 million this year, with tourism revenues totaling 10 billion euros for the year, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) predicted on Monday.

Andreas Andreadis, president of SETE, speaking to reporters during a news conference, said that despite a slowdown in bookings so far this year, he remained optimistic that this trend could be reversed, adding it was necessary to boost confidence of the international tourism market towards Greece.

“Today we communicate with the rest of the world and the message is that Greece can offer its hospitality, cuisine, landscape and its cultural heritage to the world. We are against any extreme positions and supporting the majority of Greeks who acknowledge the efforts made by Eurozone peoples to support our country. The time has come for Greek tourism to confirm its leading role in the economic growth of the country,” Andreadis said.

He announced that SETE will launch a campaign to inform tourists over what the country has to offer them, including hospitality packages for foreign journalists, ones aimed at reversing any negative climate towards Greece by international media.