Athens Airport Promotes Greek Capital at 2nd ACES Symposium

Athens. Photo © Shutterstock

Athens International Airport CEO Yiannis Paraschis. Photo: AIA

“The ACES Symposium – Athens is a unique initiative of its kind with particular importance for the airport but also for the city of Athens in general,” the CEO of the Athens International Airport (AIA), Yiannis Paraschis, said in regards to the 2nd Airport Chief Executives’ Symposium (ACES – Athens), which took place recently at the Acropolis Museum.

ACES is an initiative of AIA that aims to strengthen the connection between aviation/airports and the economy of the destinations they operate in and also launch initiatives to strengthen Athens as a tourism destination.

At the 1st ACES – Athens Symposium, the “City Pair Initiative” was announced and included the signing of Memorandums of Understandings between AIA and 18 international airports for the promotion of Athens to nearly 170 million passengers in 2014.

Destination… Athens for the Parthenon Sculptures

This year, AIA presented its latest initiative: the launch of a new interactive application installed in four special terminal screens that gives visitors to the Greek capital the chance to express their opinion on the Parthenon Sculptures dispute between Greece and Britain.

During the 2nd ACES – Athens symposium, some 140 leading representatives from the sectors of aviation, international banking, economy and tourism focused on the interdependence of aviation and international economic developments.

In her opening speech, Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni referred to the very positive developments that have taken place in Greek tourism this past year. She focused on the sector's prospects and future planning and also spoke of enhancing the attractiveness of Athens in relation to the developments in aviation.

Alexis Galinos, the managing director of the city's development and destination management agency of the Municipality of Athens, underlined the efforts being made to upgrade the city and boost the Greek capital as a tourism destination.

The keynote speaker of the symposium, Dr. Charles E. Schlumberger of the World Bank/Transport Division, gave a very interactive presentation of "The global economic situation and its impact on the aviation industry".

“This year, which is a very positive time for Athens as a destination, with great pleasure we welcomed our distinguished guests, representatives of international business, in an area with a great symbolism, the brilliant Acropolis Museum,” AIA’s CEO said.