Katerini Municipality Looks to Build Successful City Brand

Photo Source: Municipality of Katerini – video

The Municipality of Katerini in northern Greece is aiming to create a successful city brand to attract travelers in the post-Covid-19 era.

The city’s new destination branding strategy was discussed during a recent meeting of the Municipality’s Committee for Tourism Development in the presence of Deputy Mayor for Tourism and Chairman of the Committee George Dadamis.

“This has been one of the most difficult years for tourism. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought one of the greatest health crises in modern history with huge social and economic consequences,” Dadamis said during the meeting.

“We wish to create a story for Katerini that will place our city among the world’s year-round destinations,” he added.

Photo Source: Municipality of Katerini

According to Dadamis, Katerini’s new identity should be designed by a company specializing in destination branding.

As he said, the municipality is looking to attract visitors during all seasons by developing thematic forms of travel including pilgrimage, culture, hiking, gastronomy, medical, conference and sports tourism.

The municipality’s strategy for 2021 includes the development of promotional material with emphasis on digital communication.

During the meeting, the tourism committee unanimously approved the proposal for the modification of the budget for Katerini’s tourism program with the consent of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).

Dadamis also presented the actions undertaken by the municipality in 2020 to boost tourism.

“Our planning focused on domestic tourism, which was also negatively affected [by the pandemic]. The activities approved by the GNTO cost a total of 13,308.75 euros,” he said.

Infrastructure projects carried out on Katerini’s coastal front in 2020 included the construction of a beach pier and the installation of a SEATRAC mobility ramp facilitating access for persons with mobility problems.

Furthermore, the municipality ran a tourism campaign for domestic travelers featuring a radio spot, a promo video for social media, audiovisual material for TV shows, and advertisements in Greek and in English for newspapers and magazines.