Six New Tourism Promotion Programs Announced

Akis Tsohatzopoulos was the special speaker at the ceremony for the Xenios Zeus Awards created by the Hellenic Tourism Organization. Ten Greek personalities famous abroad were awarded for their assistance in promoting Greece outside their country.

The Hellenic Tourism Organization announced six tourism promotional programs worth five million euros where, for the first time, the private sector is invited to participate. Five of the programs, announced earlier this year, are worth 1.5 million euros and will center on athletic tourism, winter tourism, Greek gastronomy, city tourism and religious tourism. A sixth, worth 3.5 million euros, includes four activities on the promotion of the Attica Prefecture.

The basic aims of the programs are to increase hotel occupancy, to lengthen the area’s tourism period and to increase the average amount of money spent by visitors.

In particular, the Attica program centers on advertising, a public relations program, electronic tourism promotion and an international relations program.

Advertising will be based on the many infrastructure projects completed and underway with the basic theme “Athens, Attica, A New Point of View.” Most efforts will concentrate on Greece’s two major tourism markets, the UK and Germany. The PR program centers on inviting foreign journalists to cultural and sports events that take place in the area, while the electronic program includes the creation of new links within the Hellenic Tourism Organization’s Internet site, such as special tourism possibilities within the Athens, Attica region and in-depth tourism information.

Proposals from the private sector for the promotion of Attikis will be accepted from the end of July till the end of September. Promotional programs approved and accepted must be completed by the end of 2004. Of the other five programs, the tourism organization has received 31 proposals for city tourism and 30 for religious tourism. A special committee is now evaluating the proposals.

The organization just recently approved the payment of some three million euros as its participation in Greek prefecture tourism promotion programs for 2001-2002. Most all of the programs concerned tourism information pamphlets and posters.