Manhattan Gets Taste of Greece at 1st Greek Panorama Expo

Photo credit: Greek Panorama

Hundreds of visitors and over 380 B2B meetings marked the success of the 1st Greek Panorama held last week at New York’s Grand Central Station in Manhattan.

Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall hosted the sights, sounds and tastes of Greece for two days offering passersby, tour operators, tourism professionals and journalists the chance to learn more about the country and its tourist offerings.

Aiming to become one of the most comprehensive exhibitions in the US featuring unique destinations in Greece and options such as luxury tourism, Greek gastronomy, real estate, shopping, yachting and cruises, the 1st Greek Panorama paves the way for business partnerships between US and Greek sector professionals.

Prominent guests attended the inauguration of the event, including His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, MP Carolyn Maloney, Permanent Representatives of Greece and Cyprus to the UN, ambassadors Aikaterini Boura and Kornelios Korneliou respectively, Greek National Tourism Organization director for the US and Canada, Grigoria Kamaterou, Federation of Hellenic Societies president Petros Galatoulas, and Greek-American ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes.

Active Media Group’s Marketing & Sponsorship Manager, Niki Molfeta; Greek-American Super Bowl finalist, former NFL linebacker Niko Koutouvides; Greek journalist Nikos Papaioannou; Greek American ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes; and Active Media Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Akis Tsolis. Photo credit: Greek Panorama

Features of the event included a Greek Food Corner, offered by the Kellari restaurant, Greek melodies from bouzouki instruments and traditional dance groups of the Academy of Hellenic Paideia, the Chian Federation of America and the Cypriot Federation.

Exhibitors at the 1st Greek Panorama included the Greek National Tourism Organization, the regions of South Aegean, Crete and the Peloponnese, the Municipality of Rethymno, the Municipality and Chamber of Heraklion, the Municipality of Rhodes and the Municipality of Chios. Participating companies included Aqua Vista Hotels, Maris Hotels, Luxury Greece DMC & Travel, Instayacht, ChrisCrossing VIP Travel Services, Big Blue Travel, TravelWay Europe, GAEA, Mastiha Shop.

MP Carolyn Maloney (right) with Greek-American Nicole Malliotakis (running for Mayor of New York City) and Nikos Fyllas of Hellas North American Events and Hellas FM. Photo credit: Greek Panorama

Greek Panorama B2B Sessions

A Professionals Day event was held on the sidelines of the 1st Greek Panorama, during which some 30 American tourism professionals and journalists met with representatives of destinations and tourism companies from the Greek market and were informed about their products and services and explored new collaborations. According to the organizers of the event, some 380 meetings were held.

Photo credit: Greek Panorama

Greek companies that took part in the B2B sessions included Sani Resort, Aqua Vista Hotels, Maris Hotels, Hilton Athens, Grace Santorini, Afea Travel & Congress, Luxury Greece DMC & Travel, Instayacht, ChrisCrossing VIP Travel Services, Travel Smart, Timothy’s Travel – Dreams Give Wings Travel, Big Blue Travel, Argo Travel, TravelWay, Variety Cruises, Sky Express and the Cyprus Tourism Organization. Regarding destinations, the list included the regions of South Aegean, Crete and the Peloponnese, the Municipality of Rethymnon, the Municipality and Chamber of Heraklion, the Municipality of Rhodes and AthensCVB.

The first Greek Panorama in New York was organized by Hellas North American Events Inc in collaboration with consulting company North Events and held under the auspices of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Travel & Tourist Agencies (FedHATTA), the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH), the Hellenic Hotel Federation (HHF), and the Hellenic-American Chamber of Tourism (HACT).