SETKE Creates New ‘Alternative Holiday Experience’ Greek Offerings

The Greek Confederation of Tourist Accommodation Enterprises (SETKE) recently presented a new project placing lodgings (apartments/rooms to let) at the center of development and growth while ensuring their competitiveness.

Dubbed “Alternative Holiday Experiences by SETKE”, the plan allows its member small hospitality facilities to specialize in one or more of four key special interest tourism areas and this way create added value for their business.

SETKE’s experiential tourism proposals “create a new era for the small tourist accommodation industry”, said SETKE President Panagiotis Tokouzis.

The concept behind the “Alternative Holiday Experiences by SETKE” project is the “creation of a new type of specialized and quality upgraded tourist accommodation, which will appeal to a specific audience and will attract visitors with special interests”, said SETKE in a statement. It also aims to diversify the country’s tourism offerings which will in turn help extend the tourism season.

SETKE’s four recommendations are:

• Nature by SETKE – offers expertise, knowhow and activities in walking and trekking tourism. Member facilities will provide visitors with useful information, maps, equipment, and services related to trails and attractions in the area.
• Cycling by SETKE – offers expertise in cycling tours, routes and attractions, and unknown biking destinations. Member facilities will provide bicycles and have relevant infrastructure in place as well as operate year-round.
• Family by SETKE – focuses on activities for families aimed at meeting their special needs including safety and independence.
• Gastronomy by SETKE – introduces visitors to traditional Greek cuisine through cooking lessons, workshops, and sampling.

SETKE members will be able to receive Eurocert certification for one or more of the above products.

“With the coronavirus pandemic forming a new reality in the tourism and travel industry, the focus on a new form of specialized small accommodation [facility] is crucial for a sustainable tourism development,” said Tokouzis.

The Alternative Holiday Experiences program comes after SETKE’s Breakfast Basket initiative and paves the wave for the federation’s new lodging brand “Smotel”.