Travel Trade Athens 2017 attracts top international and Greek travel professionals

With 3,000 meetings held over two days, Travel Trade Athens 2017 has once more managed to attract top international and Greek travel selected professionals, interested in Athens as a year-round destination.

Travel Trade Athens, organized by the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB) in cooperation with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), was held on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 October 2017, at the Grande Bretagne Hotel.  

For the 100 hosted buyers, representing travel organizations and tourism agencies, conference and event organizers, as well as journalists from known trade publications and electronic media, and 140 Greek tourism professionals, the 5th consecutive Travel Trade Athens was a great opportunity to come together through 3,000 networking meetings to discuss Athens as a MICE and leisure destination.

Each working day was followed by fam trips designed exclusively to showcase Athens' new points of interest. Particular emphasis was given this year to building strong ties to the conferences, corporate meetings and incentive travel (MICE) industry. To this end, the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau worked with leading media groups for the MICE industry such as Headquarters, The Association Magazine, and other leading media around the world. In addition, the ACVB was actively supported by FED HATTA and the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Association) to further enhance participation according to their perspective thematic markets.

During the press conference, which attracted top stakeholders of the Greek tourism industry, including the Mayor of Athens, Georgios Kaminis, vice president of AEGEAN, Mr. Eftychios Vasilakis, Athens International Airport's director of communications and marketing, Ms Ioanna Papadopoulou, GNTO’s Secretary General Mr. Konstantinos Tsegas, Mr. Nikos Kampanopoulos, General Manager for VISA Europe in Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus, ASTA Vice President Mr. Robert Duglin,  and the President of FedHatta, Mr. Lyssandros Tsilidis.

The Mayor of Athens, Georgios Kaminis, spoke of the Leading Cultural Destination 2017 award the City of Athens recently received in London. Dubbed the “Museum Oscars”, the awards celebrate the best culture destinations worldwide.

Travel Trade Athens 2017 was organized on the back of an amazing year for the City of Athens, which expects to break the record number of 5 million visitors in 2017, a 100% rise in the number of visitors over the last five years.

Interest in the contemporary and vibrant Athens experience was sealed through an MoU signed by the Mayor of Athens, Mr Georgios Kaminis, the Vice President of the American Association of Travel Agents (ASTA), Mr Robert Duglin and the President of FedHatta, Lysandros Tsilidis, to further support Travel Trade Athens as the signature travel event for the Greek capital.

The Mayor of Athens, Mr. Georgios Kaminis spoke of Athens taking off in the last few years as a top destination and recognized the role of tourism in the development of the local economy. “Every 40 visitors in Athens support a job " said Mayor Kaminis referring to the Athens Tourism partnership, a common effort by the City of Athens, AEGEAN and the Athens International Airport joining forces, for the first time, to promote Athens as a contemporary year-round destination, for which the contribution of the City of Athens was secured through an exclusive donation by The Hellenic Initiative.

The 5th Travel Trade Athens was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, with the support of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE), the General Greek Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET) and the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotels Association.

• Diamond Sponsors: AEGEAN, GNTO and VISA

• Platinum Sponsors: Athens International Airport and Attica Region

This year's event was supported by: YOLENI'S Greek products, METAXA, VIP PARTIES, Vassiliou Estate winery.

Fam trip sponsors: Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center, The Margi Farm, Discover Greek Culture, Hard Rock Café, Clio Muse, Guided Tours Association, Amphitrion Group, Key Tours.

For more information:

The ACVB team
Athens Development & Destination Management Agency
City of Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau
Filellinon 7, 105 57
+30 210 3312002-3
info@athenscvb.gr
www.athenscvb.gr