Athens To Host Annual Tourism Workshops

Travel Trade Athens 2013 will be held 22-23 April 2013 at the New Acropolis Museum.

A series of annual B2B workshops that will bring Greek tourism professionals and local businesses of Athens together with tour operators and conference organizers from abroad will kick off in the Greek capital as of next year.

The series of workshops, to be held under the title “Travel Trade Athens,” is based on a strategic cooperation agreement of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA).

The first Travel Trade Athens will be held 22-23 April 2013 at the New Acropolis Museum and some 60 hosted buyers, tour operators, conference and event organizers and distinguished journalists from Europe and the United States are expected to attend.

During Travel Trade Athens 2013, some 200 Greek businesses and professionals from Athens’ tourism sector and local tourism market will have the opportunity to attend up to 32 pre-arranged B2B meetings with professional visitors from abroad to present their services and products and discuss cooperation possibilities.

The workshop will hold sessions and discussions on the city’s tourism sector by leading representatives of international organizations. In addition, international trends and specialized sales methods in niche markets such as educational tourism, city tourism and LGBT tourism, will be presented.

The three-day workshop will also include hospitality and an extensive acquaintance program of the Greek capital to present the tourism portfolio and competitive advantages of Metropolitan Athens as a tourism destination.

It is noted that, on an international level, this is the first time ETOA has created a professional workshop program open exclusively to businesses and professionals from the tourism market of the host destination.

The Travel Trade Athens series of workshops is an initiative of the City of Athens and aims for the economic and tourism development of the Greek capital and the strengthening of the city’s position in the international tourism market.

“The strategic agreement between the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) shows that when there is a plan and target, Athens can conquer new fields of international cooperation and become the center of innovative actions,” Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis said.

The workshop series is supported by Athens International Airport, Aegean Airlines, members of the Athens Convention Bureau and the Acropolis Museum.