Greek authorities intend to allow tourists to scuba dive to ships that sank in the country's territorial waters more than 50 years ago, the Minister of tourism of Greece Harry Theocharis said.
Athens expects that this measure will ensure a 10% increase in tourism revenue.
According to the Minister, it is about creating dive parks and allowing organized diving to sea vessels that sank between 1860 and 1970. Currently, underwater descent to shipwrecks that occurred more than 50 years ago is prohibited.
In the territorial waters of Greece during the First and Second World Wars a large number of ships sank, including, in 1916, the cruise ship "Britannicus", the twin of the famous "Titanic", lying on the seabed off the coast of the island of Kea.
The tourism sector, which employs 20% of Greece's residents, accounts for a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. In 2019, Greece's revenue from tourism increased by 12% – from 16 billion to 18.1 billion euros.
Last year, 31 million tourists visited the country, and this year, according to the authorities, their number will grow by 5 percent.
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