Evangelos Stavropoulos

Fmr President,
Greek Union of Air Travel Agencies

PHILOXENIA 2011 greeting.

During the times of the crisis our country is going through, tourism remains our heavy industry and also our great hope.

As we all know, the tourism figures announced last month were one of the very few positive reports we had heard and it is in our hands to further capitalize on that.

The Philoxenia tourism exhibition is our best opportunity to further promote our country as a destination, encourage relationships with foreign tour operators and show the international community that our country is present and ready to welcome guests from all over the world.

International tourism professionals have an opportunity to experience our country, our hospitality and understand that we are competitive and qualified to offer an excellent product to their clients.

Moreover, Philoxenia is a great opportunity for outgoing tour operators to find new products, new destinations and negotiate better deals for Greeks traveling abroad as every sector of our industry is equally important these days.

It is a firm belief of the Greek Union of Air Travel Agencies that Greece must continue to invest in every area of the tourism sector. It is necessary to improve our services, invest in our infrastructure and be competitive as a country and as companies.

This is the only way to further increase tourism’s contribution to the Greek economy and be prepared for the following years.

I wish every success to all participants, organizers and exhibitors of Philoxenia and I am sure that it will once again be a major international event.