Tourism Promotion of Athens on Agenda of Talks Between Ministry, City’s Airport

Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias and AIA CEO Yiannis Paraschis

Ways to further promote Athens as a tourism destination, especially during the winter months, were recently discussed between Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias and Athens International Airport (AIA) CEO Yiannis Paraschis

During a meeting that took place at AIA’s headquarters in Spata, coordination issues and communication activities to promote Athens as a year-round tourism destination were high on the agenda.

According to Paraschis, arrivals to Athens are higher than expected for the month of October.

He also analyzed AIA’s set of actions and incentives to attract airlines beyond the high tourism season.

It is reminded that AIA is is part of the “This is Athens and Partners” initiative along with Marketing Greece, the City of Athens and Aegean Airlines among other tourism bodies. The “This is Athens & Partners” initiative brings together private and public sector forces to work together to upgrade Athens and promote the city to major tourism markets abroad.

During the meeting, Kikilias underlined the need for the aforementioned bodies to collaborate with the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in order to promote Athens’ advantages to different target audiences, with a focus on the winter months.

Monastiraki square. Photo source: @Municipality of Athens

He also informed Paraschis on the recent contacts he had with airline companies and tour operators to discuss the possibility of attracting more tourists to the country before the summer season.

The minister’s contacts included a meeting with representatives of the Dutch low-cost airline Transavia, which plans to boost available seats to Greece by 50 percent to meet the demands in the upcoming season. Kikilias also met with senior executives of TUI, Sebastian Ebel and Thomas Ellerbeck, who informed him on the company’s plans to begin bringing visitors to Greece from March 2022. It should be mentioned that TUI’s representatives showed a great interest in the growing potential of Athens as a year-round destination.