Finally Released in Greece: Google Street View

A few weeks ago we had the chance to attend the launch of Grow Greek Tourism Online, a new initiative by Google, the Greek Tourism Ministry, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), which was launched in Heraklion, Crete on the 2nd of September 2014.

All presentations were quite interesting but what we found really fascinating was Google Street View!

Google street view is a virtual travelling experience which enables users to have a 360°, panoramic, view of Greece. It gives them the opportunity to instantly jump from one location to another, explore the beautiful landscape and sandy beaches, discover the country’s world-famous archaeological sites, step inside museums and explore most Greek cities via 360-degree images on Google Maps.

Here are some interesting facts about the launch, which unsurprisingly, was associated with some challenges and delays: Google Team and the Greek Data Protection Authority had been negotiating for 5 years as regards to the addition of Greece in the long list of countries presented via street view. In 2014, the Greek authorities finally lifted their objections after Google agreed to use blurring technology in order to obscure details like people faced and vehicle license plates and Greece became the 56th country to be added in Google’s global list of Street View countries.

Potential travelers to Greece can now sit in their armchairs and cozy home atmosphere and enjoy a virtual tour around the country’s numerous beauties via their desktop, laptop, table or mobile phone.

What an amazing initiative and what a great way to promote Greece as a top tourist destination worldwide! Don’t you think?

And as Google Team says…Hello Greece! Hello world!