Greece Needs to Upgrade Infrastructure for Conference Tourism to Take Off

Myron Flouris,Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development of the Greek Tourism Ministry; Efi Koudeli, Regional Manager Europe at ICCA; Maria Gatsou, General Manager of Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) and Sissi Lygnou, President of HAPCO & DES. Photo source: HAPCO

Conference tourism to Greece could generate as much as 1 billion euros in revenues annually, said Sissi Lygnou, president of HAPCO & DES (Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers & Destinations Events Specialists) during the 13th annual meeting held in Thessaloniki earlier this month.

Addressing the conference titled “The Future is Now”, Lygnou said that conference tourism contributes seven times more to the national economy compared to mass tourism, supports over 50 professions, provides the solution to seasonality and employment, and attracts high-income visitors while promoting the country worldwide.

Lygnou went on to add that the segment also contributes to the “development of science, health, the transmission of scientific knowledge through the hosting of conferences, promoting Greece as a learning and high-level hub… while highlighting the culture and history of the country”.

Sissi Lygnou, president of HAPCO & DES. Photo source: HAPCO

According to Lygnou, Greece has failed to tap into the segment ranking 13^th in Europe in 2022 with Athens 8^th and Thessaloniki in 51^st spot. The reason she said is lacking infrastructure to cater to the needs of large conferences. “Every year, we lose numerous international and corporate events that could attract high-level and high-income audiences, a large number of participants, generating direct turnover for the country of up to 1 billion euros per year as well as many other benefits,” said Lygnou.

She went to add that though Greece has managed to establish itself on the MICE map, it urgently needs to upgrade infrastructure, including conference centers in Athens and Thessaloniki that could cater to the needs of some 5,000 attendees.

A step in the right direction, said Lygnou, was inking a deal last fall between HAPCO & DES, This is Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) and the Thessaloniki Convention Bureau (TCB) for the creation of the Greek Meetings Alliance (GMA), aimed at developing and promoting Greece’s conference and events industry.

Also addressing the event, Deputy Tourism Minister Elena Rapti said the MICE segment had been included in the ministry’s 2024 marketing plan for special interest tourism such as conferences and incentives.

HAPCO & DES conference. Photo source: HAPCO

Rapti admitted that there was room for improvement referring to the need for new infrastructure with modern specifications that could host larger events.

“Conference tourism creates and increases the demand for travel services with additional stays, transfers, guided tours, excursions, lunches/dinners, and boosts turnover,” said Rapti, adding that average tourist spend per conference comes to 1,639 euros and rising.

In this direction, she said an open tender for the creation of a new metropolitan conference center at the former Olympic sports complex in Faliro known as the ‘Taekwondo’ was underway.