Greece should develop sectors other than tourism, experts say

The Greek economy needs to find new orientations, via sectors such as manufacturing, new technologies and renewable energy, in order to make up for the ground lost from tourism and related services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, experts told Xinhua in recent interviews, as Greece is facing the prospect of a deep recession this year.

The European Commission projected on Wednesday a 9.7-percent economic contraction in Greece in 2020, while Athens last week presented to the Commission a baseline scenario for a 4.7 percent contraction and an adverse scenario for a 7.9 percent recession this year. Both estimates are based on the anticipated slump in tourism revenues in 2020.

"Greece is heavily reliant on tourism, with 20 percent of the economy depending on it directly or indirectly," Nikolina Kosteletou, economics professor at the University of Athens, told Xinhua.