ETOA Places Athens on the Heart of International Tourism Market

The ninth Journey Commerce Athens by the Metropolis of Athens and the European Tourism Affiliation places Athens on the heart of the worldwide tourism market

Over 160 representatives from the Greek and worldwide tourism trade met in Athens for the ninth Journey Commerce Athens, the signature annual B2B occasion of the Metropolis of Athens organized in collaboration with the European Tourism Affiliation (ETOA). Operated by the Athens Growth and Vacation spot Administration Company (ADDMA), the occasion ran April 24-25 with the participation of hosted consumers, native suppliers, and worldwide media.

Because the begin of Journey Commerce Athens in 2013, customer arrivals to Athens have elevated by greater than 160% and the Athens conferences & occasions trade has been acknowledged as a rising chief within the European market that’s creating native financial alternatives. This 12 months, the occasion hosted greater than 1,600 B2B conferences between Greek and worldwide tourism professionals in the course of the two-day occasion, together with greater than 60 hosted consumers and over 100 native suppliers. The hosted consumers represented the town’s goal markets in Europe, the UK, USA and Canada.

On the Press Convention launching Journey Commerce Athens 2023 and marking the beginning of the spring season, Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis was joined by Yiannis Paraschis, Chief Govt Officer of the Athens Worldwide Airport (AIA); Eftichios Vassilakis, President of AEGEAN; and Tim Fairhurst, Secretary Normal of ETOA.

Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, underlined the significance of the occasion: “The ninth Journey Commerce Athens is right here. It’s an distinctive occasion that’s opening extra home windows and doorways for Athens as a vacation spot. Actually, now we have many causes to be glad in regards to the growth of Athens as a vacationer vacation spot, as in recent times now we have been breaking one document after one other. To those, yet one more is added: it’s the primary time in historical past that Athens is welcoming so many investments.”

The Mayor of Athens thanked all of the companions who’re contributing to the event of the vacationer market of Athens. “I wish to prolong a really massive thanks to Mr. Tim Fairhurst, the Secretary Normal of the European Tourism Group. His presence honors us and is a vote of belief and confidence within the Athens market. I might additionally wish to thank Mr. Vassilakis and Mr. Parashis for the wonderful collaboration now we have developed by means of That is Athens. This public-private partnership is a good alternative for all of us, as a result of it allows us to affix forces and obtain a significantly better outcome collectively.”

Tim Fairhurst stated on behalf of ETOA: “A precondition for tourism success is the optimistic collaboration between personal and public sectors. Athens understands this and our collective progress in the direction of greatest tourism for residents and vacationers alike depends upon it. We’re delighted to be working with the town once more, bringing high quality consumers fascinated by creating new merchandise.”

Along with a full schedule of B2B conferences, the ninth Journey Commerce Athens contains quite a few excursions and experiences. It additionally hosts the Τhis is Athens Agora, a half-day cross-sectoral gathering for Greek tourism professionals. Via a sequence of instructional workshops, panel discussions and speeches from world famend trade professionals, the attending Greek professionals have the chance to realize helpful insights and develop experience on the tourism trade’s international tendencies.

The audio system included Tim Fairhurst, Secretary Normal of ETOA; Maria Founta, Head of Advertising and marketing South East Europe at Google; Anna Vasila, Head of Sustainability and Trade Affairs on the Athens Worldwide Airport; Christos Koutsoukos, Govt Inventive Director of Cream and Rascal; Elke Dens, International Director of The Journey Basis; Ioannis Pallas, Affiliation Supervisor of the ESAE – European Society of Affiliation Executives; Dr. Christina Gitsaki, Congress Coordinator of the Worldwide Affiliation of Utilized Linguistics; and Stylianos Filopoulos, Founding father of Affiliation by Design.

Athens shifting from energy to energy

The ninth Journey Commerce Athens builds upon a robust 12 months for the Athenian tourism trade.

Via the efforts of the Metropolis of Athens and ADDMA’s strategic planning, in addition to of That is Athens and Τhis is Athens-Conference & Guests Bureau, Athens gained its first international distinction on the World Journey Awards 2022 because the World’s Main Cultural Metropolis Vacation spot.

The award adopted the town’s double win on the European World Journey Awards the place Athens was named “Europe’s Main Cultural Metropolis Vacation spot 2022” and That is Athens-Conference & Guests Bureau acquired the “Europe’s Main Metropolis Vacationer Board” title for 2022.

Athens has additionally been recording an upward course within the international conferences trade. Athens ranked sixth in Europe and eighth on the earth for worldwide affiliation assembly based on the Worldwide Congress and Conference Affiliation (ICCA) Annual Report 2021, having hosted over 130 worldwide affiliation conferences and occasions.

Since its launch in 2013, Journey Commerce Athens has welcomed greater than 700 consumers from 35 nations. With the completion of the ninth Trave Commerce Athens, the occasion has supported greater than 19,500 B2B conferences between Greek and worldwide tourism professionals. The occasion is organized yearly by the Athens Growth and Vacation spot Administration Company of the Metropolis of Athens (ADDMA) by means of the That is Athens-Conference and Guests Bureau that operates underneath the umbrella of ADDMA, in collaboration with the European Tourism Affiliation (ETOA).