Athens: Travel Agents, Journalists from India Get to Know the Greek Capital

In a bid to promote the Greek capital city as a top travel destination in India‚ the This is Athens – Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) and Athens International Airport (AIA recently organized a familiarization trip for a group of influential travel agents and journalists representing the Indian tourism market.

During the three-day fam trip in mid-December, the guests from India had the chance to tour the decorated city of Athens, visit the most important cultural monuments, as well as the modern landmarks of the destination.

During the tours, the group got to know Athens’ rich tourism offerings and infrastructure; enjoyed Greek gastronomy and hospitality; and also were introduced to the multitude of leisure options that the city offers even during the winter months.

The group from India included ten leading travel agents specializing in the Indian FIT tourism market as well as in luxury tourism, MICE, leisure travel and wedding events; and four members of the Indian tourism press.

“The initiative of This is Athens and Athens International Airport is part of the city’s general targeting towards new, emerging markets, such as India,” said Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (ADDMA) Managing Director Epameinondas Mousios.

Among the goals of ADDMA and AIA is the launch of direct flights between Athens and India.

“With this familiarization trip, Athens was shown to Indian professionals, who saw in the most direct way the significant potential of the city in the field of conference tourism, leisure travel, weddings and also film productions,” Mousios added.

According to an announcement, the fam trip is just one of the many actions of This is Athens-CVB and AIA for the Indian market as actions are planned for the coming months that include the participation of the Greek capital in India’s largest tourism exhibitions such as OTM India.

According to AIA Director of Communications & Marketing Ioanna Papadopoulou, boosting relations with the Indian market is a strategic priority for Athens and its airport, which this year is seeing record figures in terms of passenger traffic.

“With common goals and in the spirit of synergy for the tourism future of our destination, we are dynamically advancing our actions in the Indian market which, with each step, is getting to know and enjoy the Athenian experience better and better,” Papadopoulou said.

The fam trip took place with the support of Gulf Air, which connects Athens with Bahrain with 10 direct flights per week. From Bahrain, travelers from Athens can reach a significant number of destinations in India.

Gold Star Aviation is the GSA (General Sales Agent) of Gulf Air for Greece.