8th HO.RE.CA. Expo Opens With Great Expectations

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and the CEO of HORECA’s organizer FORUM, Nikos Houdalakis, at the inauguration ceremony of the 8th HO.RE.CA. International Exhibition.

“HORECA has become an important trade event for our country that offers opportunities to tourism professionals to stand up to the difficult economic times the country is going through,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said on Friday, 8 February, during the opening ceremony of the 8th International Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe Show HO.RE.CA. at the Athens Metropolitan Expo.

Going against Greece’s difficult economic climate, the HO.RE.CA. exhibition is expected to break every record this year, considering that it has attracted 463 exhibitors and is expecting more than 100,000 professional visitors from Greece, Cyprus and the countries of the region.

The 8th HO.RE.CA. exhibition will run until Monday, 11 February.

8th HO.RE.CA. opening ceremony photo gallery

Nikos Houdalakis, CEO of HORECA's organizer FORUM.

President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Andreas Andreadis.

President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Yiorgos Tsakiris.

President of the Hellenic Chef’s Federation Miltos Karoubas.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and the CEO of HORECA's organizer FORUM, Nikos Houdalakis cutting the inauguration ribbon of the 8th HO.RE.CA. International Exhibition among professionals of the Greek food service and hospitality sectors.

8th HO.RE.CA Parallel Events

The leading trade show in Greece for the hospitality and foodservice industry, HO.RE.CA., includes a rich program of parallel events.

Greek Gastronomy Marketing Plan by SETE
HO.RE.CA.’s parallel events kicked off today with the “Gastrotourism: Food for development” event by the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE)  that included the latest developments on the “Gastronomy in the marketing menu of Greek tourism” project.

SETE aims to promote and establish Greek Gastronomy as one of the key reasons for tourists to choose Greece as their holiday destination and the event gave the opportunity to professionals from the sectors of foodservice, hospitality and catering to exchange ideas and know how concerning this common cause.

SETE’s campaign “Gastrotourism–Food for development” that aims to secure funds for the project to get off the ground, will run until the end of February 2013.

Events running until Monday, 11/2

2nd General Assemby – Hellenic Chamber of Hotels
The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels’ second general assembly will take place Saturday, 9 February 2013 and will be attended by some 2,000 hoteliers from across Greece.

6th International Gastronomy Forum
Τhe undertaking of the 37th World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) Congress that will take place in Athens, in 2016, will be the focal point of all events held by the Hellenic Chef’s Association. Hence, HO.RE.CA. will host the preliminary gastronomy competitions that will nominate those who will compete in Italy in October 2013 that aim to participate in the finals in Norway in 2014.

Athens 2016 WACS Congress Presentation
Greek tourism professionals, entrepreneurs and culinary schools can get fully informed in regards to the upcoming Athens 2016 WACS Congress at an official presentation on Monday, 11 February, in Hall C2. The presentation will cover the details of the organization of the 37th WACS Congress in Athens and the benefits that will arise from it.

Future Hotel on the Web
As online hotel reservations are increasing in these times, “Future Hotel on the Web” will introduce Greek hoteliers to the new Internet era and help them maximize their online sales by taking advantage of all opportunities offered by new technologies.

2nd HORECA Beer Festival
A higher number of participating beer bartenders will attend the 2nd HO.RE.CA. Beer Festival, which will feature many contests and presentations. Brewing experts will share their knowledge about beer, while at the same time all brands by famous breweries on sale in Greece will be presented.

“Greek Breakfast”
The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels will present the results of its coordinated actions aimed at the establishment of “Greek Breakfast” throughout all hotels of the country. The “Greek Breakfast” project is an initiative of the hotel chamber focused on the Greek culinary tradition, aimed to promote the wealth and authenticity of local products and gastronomy by uniting hoteliers and local producers. At Hall 4 of the 8th HO.RE.CA., “Greek Breakfast” menus from eight regions (Santorini, Rhodes, Kos, Lesvos, Naxos, Halkidiki, Magnesia and Messinia) that have already signed quality agreements with the hotel chamber, will be presented at stands A25, 27,29,31 – B26, 27,28,29,30 – C29.

SCAE Championships
Championships by SCAE HELLAS that aim to select the best Greek baristi! The events will once again gather highly talented participants who will be judged not only for their skills and know-how, but also for the appearance, taste and originality of their hot drinks. The jury will include highly-profiled judges from Greece and abroad.

1st Bartending Show
A unique show for professional bartenders, bar managers and bar/café owners that will offer a wide range of events and competitions under the auspices of the Hellenic Barmen Association (HBA).

HO.RE.CA. Wine
Wineries will present and promote their products to thousands of hospitality and foodservice professionals. HO.RE.CA. Wine will host a series of seminars, parallel events and happenings that will be of high interest to foodservice professionals.

Forum of Chambers – “Synergies with Perspectives”
A forum with the participation of the Greek-Italian, Greek-Turkish, Greek- Chinese, Greek-Brazilian and Greek-Canadian chambers will take place Monday, 11 February at 1:30pm. The forum is held by initiative of the Touristiki Agora magazine and under the auspices of the Greek Tourism Ministry and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.