Greece Holds Talks with Tripadvisor on Tourism Collaboration

Photo source: Tripadvisor

The Greek Tourism Ministry recently discussed the possibility of forming a collaboration with Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, with a focus on promotional actions for Greece.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni last week held a meeting with TripAdvisor CEO Matt Goldberg during an official visit to New York to strengthen ties in tourism with the industry’s key players in the United States and Canada.

During her meeting with Goldberg, Kefalogianni discussed the possibility of launching a strong cooperation between Tripadvisor, the Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) with a focus on promoting Greek tourism.

According to the ministry, it would be the first time the travel guidance platform would form a partnership with a European country. The aim of the partnership would be to target high-income travelers and expand the Greek tourism season into the winter months.

Tripadvisor helps hundreds of millions of people become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on hotels, restaurants and discover great places for vacation.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni with TripAdvisor CEO Matt Goldberg (right) and Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) Vice President Konstantinos Zikos (left). Photo source: Greek Tourism Ministry

Attracting more high-spending travelers to Greece was also discussed between the minister and Virtuoso group’s Vice President of Product Marketing & Strategy, Sean Murphy. Virtuoso is a leading global network of travel agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with more than 20,000 travel advisors.

Kefalogianni and Murphy discussed the prospect of Virtuoso expanding its cooperation with the GNTO to launch a targeted campaign to promote Greece to an audience of high travel spenders that also take trips during the off-peak tourism periods.

While in New York, the Greek minister held another important meeting with Internova Travel Group Vice President Peter Vlitas and explored expanding the ministry’s cooperation with the company to launch a multi-month strategic promotional program for Greece. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel consultants worldwide. She also held a meeting with Theo Yedinsky, Global Campaign Director of the popular short-term rental platform Airbnb.

Τhe US is among the most lucrative markets for Greece. Last year, travel receipts of American tourists in Greece were up by 15.1 percent to 1,344.2 million euros during the January-November period. During the first 11 months of 2023, Greece welcomed 1,369.9 thousand Americans, a 31.3 percent increase compared to the same period one year earlier.

“The prospects of expanding cooperation with the markets of the US and Canada boost our optimism for the future, for the progress of Greek tourism and the strengthening of the Greek economy,” Kefalogianni said in a ministry announcement.

11 direct daily flights to Athens from seven American cities

Greece this year for the first time will be connected to the US via 11 direct daily flights from seven American cities namely New York (Delta, American Airlines, Norse Atlantic Airways), New Jersey (Emirates, United Airlines), Washington (United), Boston (Delta), Philadelphia (American Airlines), Chicago (American Airlines, United) and Atlanta (Delta). With the exception of Emirates, which offers year round service between Greece and the US, seasonal flights from American cities to Athens will launch as early as March this year with some stopping as late as December.