B2B events Greece, Israel Travel Agents Boost Tourism Cooperation by GTP editing team 24 November 2016 written by GTP editing team 24 November 2016 0 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 30 Efi Koudeli, Thessaloniki Convention Bureau; Kobi Karni, ITTAA Chairman; Hanny Sobel, ITTAA CEO; Efraim Fortis, Opensky Airlines President (AEGEAN’s GSA in Israel); Lysandros Tsilidis, fedHATTA President; Marietta Papavasileiou, South Aegean Region Vice Governor of Tourism; Dimitris Gerogiannis, Aegean Airlines CEO; Dimitris Tryfonopoulos, GNTO Secretary General; and Nikos Raptakis, Region of Crete Executive Secretary. By Nikos Krinis The Federation of the Hellenic Associations of Tourist & Travel Agencies (fedHATTA) and the Israel Association of Travel Agencies and Consultants, on Wednesday signed a memorandum of cooperation during the ITTAA Annual Convention held this week at the Divani Caravel hotel in Athens. The ITTAA is the leading association for travel agents, the travel industry and online travel agents in Israel. “This is not a formal cooperation but we are announcing the exchange of business from country to country through the travel agents”, fedHATTA’s president, Lysandros Tsilidis, said during a press conference, adding that the travel agents are the experts to divert the customers on where to go and where to stay. The two bodies agreed to work together towards driving tourism traffic and exchanges between the two countries as well as ensuring mutual respect of relevant tourism legislation (Greek law N. 393/76). fedHATTA President Lysandros Tsilidis and ITTAA Chairman Kobi Karni. According to the law, travel agencies from third countries can do business in the Greek market only through a representative (Greek travel agency) or through an owned office. “Today we are signing with our brother association the establishment of respect for professionals in both countries”, Tsilidis said. The tourism pact between the two bodies, follows the signing of the memorandum of cooperation in late January between Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and her Israeli counterpart Yariv Levin to strengthen tourism ties between the two countries with joint initiatives. During the press conference, the general secretary of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Dimitris Tryfonopoulos, said that this year visitors from Israel to Greece amounted to 430,000, while estimates for 2017 are looking very positive. The ITTAA Annual Convention was under the auspices of the GNTO and gathered over 350 tour operators, travel agents and tourism professionals from Israel. B2B meetings between Israeli and Greek professionals took place during the three-day convention, which aimed to create and strengthen partnerships between both countries. In addition to the business meetings, a special exhibition area was set up in the hotel which gave companies and regions the opportunity to present their products to the Israeli professionals. The ITTAA Annual Convention also included a formal dinner at the Acropolis Museum restaurant, extensive presentations of Greek destinations, alternative forms of tourism and Aegean Airlines’ agenda. According to fedHATTA, organizing the ITTAA Convention in Athens was part of the “Dodeka” initiative, which is designed to boost Greece as a year-round tourism destination. Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Louis Travel Chooses ‘All in One’ Software Platform of NetSemantics next post Egypt on Show at Philoxenia Expo, Egyptair to Launch New Flights You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ