Referring to the alarming case of tour operators in Russia collapsing this summer, Tourism Minister Olga Kefaloyiannis stressed the imperative need of safeguards to be developed for Greek businessmen and Russian tourists in the event of a tour operator going bankrupt. During a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrey M. Maslov, Mrs. Kefaloyiannis also underlined that Greece handled all relevant situations with the utmost care in order to reduce the negative impact of the problems created, while she also gave credit to the excellent cooperation between the two countries on the issue. Mrs. Kefaloyiannis highlighted the great contribution of the Russian market to Greek tourism and said that Greece looks to a further cooperation with Russia on tourism issues. She further invited Russia’s deputy culture minister in charge for tourism, Alla Malinova, to visit Athens on 23 October, on the occasion of the meeting of the tourism ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) Member States.