Destinations

Athens was introduced to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Asian and the Far East markets as a destination for conferences, corporate meetings and incentive travel during the Gulf Incentives Business Travel & Meetings Exhibitions 2013 (GIBTM) held 25-27 March in Abu Dhabi.

The Municipality of Alonissos, Northern Sporades, has launched a contest for the design of a new logo for the island’s tourism promotion.

Destination Athens will be included in travel packages promoted in the Russian Market to boost visits to the Greek capital, the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (EATA) announced recently following its participation in this year’s MITT exhibition in Russia (21-23 March).

Russian arrivals to Halkidiki this year are expected to exceed 120,000, according to the Halkidiki Tourism Organization. Last year, Halkidiki welcomed 100,000 Russian tourists.

Halkidiki expects a five to seven percent rise in arrivals of Romanian tourists this year, according to the Halkidiki Tourism Organization.

“Our Romanian friends now have the chance to come to our area in just a few hours and enjoy great hospitality via our new avenues of communication to Drama, Xanthi and Evros through Bulgaria where the roads are very modern now and continue to improve,” the vice governor of the East Macedonia-Thrace Region, Yiorgos Geromarkos, said recently in Bucharest, Romania.

Greece is a safe destination for travelers to visit and enjoy their holiday, however its image is severely affected by the over exposure of demonstrations and riots in the city center, according to a round table discussion held recently by AHEPA Glyfada chapter at the University of Indianapolis in Plaka, Athens.

Hersonissos, Crete, is making attempts to become a wedding destination for international travelers, according to a press conference given last week on the Hersonissos Municipality’s policies and actions for sustainable tourism development.

Kalymnos will be the first Greek destination to be promoted through “AlterNetGreece,” a new network that aims to introduce lesser known destinations in Greece to a wider audience.

The drawn out negative publicity of Athens has affected the Greek capital’s image and Germans appear cautious this year in choosing Athens as a major travel destination, the majority of German travel agents said at this year’s ITB Berlin trade show that was held 6-10 March 2013 at Messe Berlin.