SETE’s 14th Tourism & Development Conference to be Held October 19-20 – Program

SETE President Andreas Andreadis

“Tourism: The Ark of Greek Economy”  will be the theme of the 14th Tourism & Development Conference of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), which will take place on October 19-20 at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens.

During this year’s conference, panels will explore a series of topics referring to the extension of the Greek tourism season, the advantages that tourism brings to a local economy and technology trends in the tourism industry.

The two-day conference will give answers to a series of questions including:

– How does a destination become stronger when a multilevel strategic partnership is launched between public and private sectors?

– What is the profile of our customer and what are his/her preferences regarding the offered Greek tourism products?

– What are the banking developments and prerequisites for the liquidity and the funding of Greek tourism enterprises?

– What are the main priorities for shielding the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product in the new era?

– How does technology affect Greek tourism in the 21st century?

The conference will bring together Greek tourism professionals and experts of the global travel industry such as Yolanda Perdomo (Director of UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme, UN World Tourism Organization), Renzo Iorio (President, Federturismo Confindustria – Italian Association of Travel and Tourism Industry), António Abrantes (General Secretary, CTP – Confederação Do Turismo Português), Akis Vavlitis (President, ACTE – Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises) and José Luis Zoreda de la Rosa (Chief Executive Officer, EXCELTUR – Alianza para la excelencia turística).

Greek Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Giorgos Stathakis

Greek Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Giorgos Stathakis will be the keynote speaker at the dinner to be held on the first day of the conference, while topics will be covered by qualified executives of the Greek business, political and academic scene such as Aris Ikkos (Scientific Director, InSETE), Lia Zabetoglou (Education Director, INSETE), Alexandros Lamnidis (General Manager, SETE), Georges Panayotis (President & CEO, MKG Group), Andreas Gennimatas (Vice President, Athens Development & Destination Management Agency), Alexis Galinos (CEO Athens Development & Destination Management Agency) Iosif Parsalis (General Director, Marketing Greece), Vasilis Kafatos (Partner, Head of Strategy & Operations Consulting Services, DELOITTE), Theofilos Kiratsoulis (Senior Director, Toposophy), George Hatzimarkos (Region of South Aegean),  Anastasios – Nikolaos Zorzos (Mayor of Thira), Andreas Birner (Managing Director, Inova Hospitality Management), Antonis Vordonis (CEO, Poseidonion Grand Hotel), Antreas Gerakanakis (Enterprise Group Indirect Sales Manager, HP Hellas), Nikos Kambanopoulos (General Director for Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Visa Europe), Dionisis Kolokotsas (Public Policy Manager, GOOGLE Hellas), Ilias Polichronopoulos (Head of Corporate Market, Sales Division, Cyta Hellas), Antonis Tsimboukis (General Director Cisco, Greece, Cyprus, Malta) and Theodoros Farazoglou (Sales Manager – EBT, SAMSUNG Electronics Hellas S.A.)

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the closing dinner of the conference.

At the end of the conference, the winners of the SETE Tourism Crowdhackathon 2015 will be announced.

The official language of the conference will be Greek, with simultaneous translation in English.

For further information about the conference, the agenda and the application form to participate, press here.

GTP is among the main communication sponsors of the conference.