First Sports Tourism Company Up and Running

Sportius Hospitality executives Dinos Mitsiou, Markos Siapanis, Georgos Karpetis and Nikos Gazelides.

Sportius Hospitality, the first Greek company to specialize in sports tourism, said during a recent presentation that it aims to be the biggest organization here to provide accommodation during next year’s Olympics. Company executives said they would have 5,500 rooms and cruise-ship cabins available on a daily basis.

Cruise cabins include those aboard two luxury cruise ships from the Holland America Line, the MS Oosterdam and MS Rotterdam, which will dock in Piraeus next summer.

Sportius Hospitality, set up by travel groups Amphitrion and MIBS, considers the 2004 Games a springboard that would allow it to leap into all the activities of big sports organizational activities. These activities would include the organization of everything from pick-up service to accommodation to food to happenings to travel arrangements to organizing sports events.

Georgos Karpetis, managing director of Sportius, said, “we believe we have the power to fully satisfy our clients. We are ready today to supply the full gamut of services and we have already done so.” Amphitrion and MIBS together have a worldwide network of 20 offices and 30 cooperating offices. Sportius is the official hospitality and ticket agent for the national Olympic committees of Russia, Ukraine and Cyprus.