The gears of Greece’s cumbersome bureaucracy seem to have finally begun to turn – albeit belatedly – resulting in the long-awaited operation of the GNTO office in Melbourne now being only a matter of time.
As revealed by Greece’s Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, in her written response to PASOK–KINAL MP for Lasithi, Katerina Spyridaki, the GNTO employee appointed as Head of the new Overseas Service is already in Melbourne and assumed duties on 3 November.
The office’s headquarters, as clarified in the Minister’s written response, will be located at the Consulate General of Greece and not at the Greek Centre of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), as had been proposed in the past.
She stated: “It should be noted that, for reasons of institutional propriety, the first appointment of a Head customarily takes place within the Embassy or the Consulate General, so as to ensure institutional integration and seamless cooperation with other Greek authorities abroad.”
With the appointment of the Head, what now remains is the staffing of the GNTO office with one Deputy Head position and two employee positions, who will work at the Consulate General.
Although Mrs Kefalogianni did not specify the exact opening date, her response signals the completion of a long and arduous process that has repeatedly occupied the Greek community.
She also noted that the Ministry is always attuned to the requests of Greeks in Australia. “In any case, it should be emphasised that the Ministry of Tourism always listens to the requests of the Greek diaspora in Australia and seeks solutions to satisfy them, aiming for a continuous and fruitful cooperation to strengthen Greece’s image in Australia and to develop relations between the two countries.”
The formulation of a strategy to attract more tourists from Australia is now entering its final phase.
“As part of the importance attributed to the GNTO service in Australia, a strategy has already been developed for attracting the said market and action plans have been drawn up by the Ministry of Tourism and the GNTO in order to increase its share within our country’s inbound tourism markets,” the Minister wrote.
“The existence of a large and strong Greek diaspora in Australia constitutes a valuable channel for promoting Greek tourism and represents a specific target audience according to the 2025–2028 Marketing Plan, which was drawn up by the Ministry of Tourism and implemented by the GNTO, with Australia included among the long-distance target markets.
“Therefore, in terms of planning, the necessary framework has been established and, as for the implementation of actions, the GNTO’s Central Service has already undertaken initiatives to promote Greek tourism, which will continue through the locally operating Overseas GNTO Service.”
What Kefalogianni’s response reveals
The written response of the Minister of Tourism to the PASOK MP provides a detailed description of how the current situation was reached.
The GNTO maintained an office in Australia until 2013; however, as part of the country’s memorandum obligations and the upper spending limits set by the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy, which led to expenditure cuts, its operation was suspended.
According to the document, the re-establishment of the Overseas GNTO Service in Australia was deemed to be of strategic and national importance, as it strengthens both tourism promotion and bilateral relations with Australia, New Zealand, and other Oceanian states.
The Minister recalls that since 2014 there has been a Memorandum of Understanding between Greece and Australia that promotes cooperation in matters of youth mobility and “Work and Holiday Visa” programmes, contributing to closer acquaintance between the two peoples. In this context, the re-establishment of the office was also considered a symbol of Greece’s reconnection with the new generation of Greek Australians.
The years-long delay in reopening the GNTO office in Melbourne had caused deep disappointment within the Greek community, as revealed in a series of reports by The Greek Herald.
The President of the GCM Bill Papastergiadis, had expressed his disappointment with the repeated delays by the Greek government, stressing that despite successive announcements and written assurances, “no substantial progress has been made.”
In the most recent correspondence of March 2025, GNTO Secretary-General Andreas Fiorentinos had confirmed that the office would be housed in the Community’s building on Lonsdale Street, in the centre of Melbourne; however, that plan did not proceed.
The Community had offered free space for two years at the Greek Centre, along with staff and logistical support, considering the location ideal and symbolic for promoting Greece.
Instead, the Ministry of Tourism decided that the office would be based at the Consulate General of Greece in Melbourne.
Nevertheless, the official response of Minister Kefalogianni appears to close the endless cycle of waiting, with the GNTO now formally returning to Australia after twelve years of absence.
For the Greek community, the operation of the GNTO office represents a symbolic reconnection between the homeland and the Greeks of Australia.
After years of anticipation, the opening of the office signifies Athens’ intent to institutionally strengthen its ties with one of the most dynamic Greek communities abroad, giving new substance to the relationship of trust and mutual support that binds it to the diaspora.
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