Greek Hotel Chamber Supports Startup Cluster for Tourism Businesses

Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President Alexandros Vassilikos and Hellenic Startup Association representative, Katerina Santikou.

“We are here to make a difference, to take the big leap towards a smarter tourism and a more intelligent economy.” – Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President Alexandros Vassilikos

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels is taking the Travel Startups Greece cluster under its wing, aiming to establish innovation in Greek hotels and throughout the country’s tourism sector.

The newly established Travel Startups Greece is a startup cluster for tourism businesses.

“Today we are pleased to present an action that responds to the strategic challenge for more innovation, more technology and more knowledge in the day-to-day economic process,” the chamber’s president, Alexandros Vassilikos, said on Tuesday during a press conference.

Photo source: Hellenic Chamber of Hotels

According to Vassilikos, the chamber will support the cluster’s efforts to create an innovative “ecosystem” that will create end products and services with measurable added value for the modernization of Greek hotels and the tourism market.

“We are here because we aim to foster innovative spirits, empower young people who can think beyond defined frameworks and have the ability to see something new, even in very traditional and ordinary things. We are here to make a difference, to take the big leap towards a smarter tourism and a more intelligent economy,” Vassilikos said

Accelerator for tourism startups in Greece

The chamber will also focus on supporting the cluster’s effort to create a “travel accelerator” – an acceleration program for tourism startups in Greece. The travel accelerator will aim to bring companies, in a short time, to a sufficient level to be able to request funding, further develop their products or even boost their services in other markets as well.

On the side of Travel Startups Greece, representative Katerina Santikou said that the cluster’s purpose is to strengthen Greek young entrepreneurship active in the tourism sector, launch new technology ideas and applications for tourism that can be used to enhance the national tourism product, train its member startup companies and help them connect with specialized executives of the domestic and international tourism market.

“For us, Greek startup tourism businesses is the present of tourism as we know it today and the future as it will radically evolve. A future where innovation and traditional tourism market players will go hand in hand,” Santikou said.

As announced by Vassilikos, the chamber will lease a space for the cluster’s offices, cover all relevant operating expenses and bring its member hotels closer to the startup companies through networking.