The strong interest of the British public in Greece was reflected in the impressive participation of top travel agents and tour operators at the “Greek Tourism Workshop,” which took place in Manchester on Monday, April 28.

The event aimed to cover the market of Central and Northern Great Britain — regions with significant potential for strengthening the tourism flow toward our country.

The British market, a traditionally strong ally of Greek tourism, is emerging as a leading driver of growth for the Greek tourism industry. The year 2025 is expected to be highly promising, with an impressive increase in bookings from the United Kingdom, further boosting optimism for the upcoming tourism season.

It is noted that the “Greek Tourism Workshop” in Manchester was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the Embassy of Greece in London, and the Consulate General of Greece in Manchester.

Honoring the event with their presence and addressing greetings were the Consul General of Greece in Manchester, Mr. Alexandros Ioannidis, and the Head of the GNTO (Greek National Tourism Organization) UK & Ireland Office, Mrs. Eleni Skarveli, while the Deputy Head of the GNTO UK & Ireland Office, Mrs. Angela Tzifa, also attended.

The first part of the event included one-on-one business (B2B) meetings between Greek destinations and tourism enterprises and participating British travel agents and tour operators. This was followed by presentations of Greek destinations and companies, further enhancing their promotion.

Specifically, presentations were made by:
The honored Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, represented by the Head of Tourism Promotion, Mr. Georgios Panagopoulos, The Development Organization of the Region of Attica  New Metropolitan Attica S.A., presented by Marketing Manager, Mr. Konstantinos Zervas, The Region of Central Macedonia, represented by Mrs. Elisavet Siaridou from the Tourism Promotion and Marketing Department, Directorate of Tourism, The Heraklion Chamber of Commerce, represented by the Head of Business Support, Mrs. Lena Stefanoudaki, and
The Region of Crete, represented by the Deputy Regional Governor responsible for Tourism Affairs, Mr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou.

Americans show strong confidence in Greek luxury tourism

Greece is setting course for increased sales in the luxury tourism sector. This was the key takeaway from the Greek Luxury Tourism & Gastronomy Workshop, the country’s premier promotional event for luxury tourism in the United States, organized by Tourism Media & Events in New York City on Thursday, November 16, in Manhattan.

The event brought together 14 Greek companies, regions, municipalities, hotels, and tourism enterprises, who met with 63 travel agents and 6 distinguished journalists from across the United States.

Held in the heart of Manhattan, the workshop took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, and the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C. The Region of Attica was honored as the featured region, while Aegean Airlines served as the official airline sponsor.

The event’s sponsors included Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos,” Fraport Greece, Thessaloniki Port Authority, the Municipality of Rethymno, and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

Presentations were given by the Region of Attica with Ms. Athina Kolyva, Head of the Tourism Directorate of the Region of Attica; the Region of Crete with Dr. Kyriakos G. Kotsoglou, Deputy Regional Governor of Tourism & E-Governance and member of the Regional Economic Committee of Crete; and the Region of Central Macedonia with Mr. Miltiadis Nikolaou, Head of the Tourism Department of the Region of Central Macedonia.

With a strong focus on the U.S. luxury tourism market, the event marked another important step by Tourism Media & Events in strengthening Greece’s presence in this high-end segment.

All participating Greek tourism professionals expressed enthusiasm, having each secured more than 20 appointments. As noted, hundreds of fruitful meetings and significant B2B sessions took place, offering participants expanded networking opportunities with representatives of U.S.-based luxury travel companies.

The event also allowed American tourism professionals to discover new destinations and products from the Greek luxury tourism market.

 

The 1st Alternative Tourism & Gastronomy Workshop in the Swedish market, organized by Tourism Media & Events, was successfully completed a few days ago.

The event took place in Stockholm, a highly promising market for Greece, and was crowned with absolute success, as a series of business meetings took place between Greek tourism enterprises and destinations and the most prominent tour operators based in the broader area.

As the first significant tourism event after the pandemic, it managed to perfectly “bridge” the cultures of the two nations—cultures that, in essence, share many common elements, such as a love for the sun, the sea, hospitality, and good food.

This was confirmed both by the Swedish journalists—who were impressed by the regional presentations and the excellent organization of the event with Greek flavors—and by the highly successful and constructive meetings between Greek representatives and Swedish tourism professionals.

From start to finish, the atmosphere was warm and cheerful, as only Greek hospitality can offer, while new bridges of cooperation were built.

It is worth noting that the 1st Greek Alternative Tourism and Gastronomy Workshop in Sweden was attended by 47 tourism professionals and journalists.

The event was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Rural Development & Food.

The honored region was the Region of Western Greece, while other participants included the Region of Attica, the Region of Central Macedonia, the Region of Crete, the Loutraki Tourism Organization, the Municipality of Kos, among others. Official airline sponsor was Aegean Airlines and supporting sponsor was the “Greek Breakfast” initiative of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

The event was opened by Mr. Pavlos Mourmas, Director of the GNTO office in Scandinavia, while a welcome address was delivered on behalf of the Greek Embassy in Stockholm by Mr. Pavlos Olziersky, Head of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Embassy.

Mr. Giorgos Kontorinis, Vice President of Solna, also welcomed the participants, making significant remarks regarding the dynamic presence of Hellenism in Sweden and the strong ties between the two nations.

Following the conclusion of the B2B meetings, presentations were delivered by Dr. Lavrentis Vasileiadis for the honored Region of Western Greece, by Dr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou, Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism for the Region of Crete, by Mr. Andreas Kiskinis for the Region of Central Macedonia, and by Ms. Maria Pantelous for the Region of Attica.

Lastly, it should be noted that the upcoming events of Tourism Media & Events in 2023 promoting Greek tourism will be held in Amman, Jordan on May 11, in Ghent for the Benelux market on October 26, in New York for the North American luxury travel market on November 14, and in Warsaw on December 12.