Conference and Visitors Bureau to Operate in Messinia

The Messinia Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently signed an agreement with the Messinia Prefecture and the Municipality of Kalamata for the operation of a Conference and Visitors Bureau in Kalamata for the promotion of conference tourism.

“We insist on this type of tourism because besides economic benefits it promotes the host city and other individual destinations and lengthens the tourism season,” said Yiorgos Karabatos, president of the chamber.

“Hosting a conference contributes to the particular city as a satisfied delegate becomes a powerful marketing tool for the further promotion of the destination,” he said.

The Conference and Visitors Bureau will coordinate and operate as a link between the conference organizer, the available conference infrastructure and any additional services (restaurants, bars, shops, municipal markets, museums, etc.).

The bureau will also promote thematic forms of tourism for which Messinia has adequate resources, infrastructure and comparative advantages.

Mr. Karabatos also mentioned the chamber’s efforts to approach the Arab market, which consists of 300 million consumers, through cooperation with the Arab-Hellenic Chamber.

This approach includes a motor bike trek organized by Messinia’s cultural foundation “The Routes of the Olive Tree” (an initiative of cultural journeys and activities inspired by the olive tree).

A second action is the establishment of an “Arab Culture and Greek-Arab Friendship Institute” in Greece. The third action concerns the possibility of a coastal connection between Greece and Libya and North Africa via the Kalamata Port.