EVENTS

The launch of the 9th Travel Trade Athens by the municipality of Athens and the European Tourism Organization came to seal the extremely successful and creative course of the development and tourism promotion company of the municipality (EATA), aiming at the recovery of the city of Athens as a tourist and conference destination

The rapporteurs, the mayor of Athens, Costas Bakoyannis; the managing director of Athens International Airport, Ioannis Paraschis, the president of AEGEAN, Eftychios Vassilakis; and the general secretary of ETOA, Tim Fairhurst. They highlighted in numbers the success of the effort as well as its qualitative characteristics .

Scheduled (B2B) meetings between Greek and foreign tourism professionals are expected to exceed 1,600 in these two days. More than 60 representatives of foreign companies from the tourism and events sectors will participate, while 100 companies will represent the Greek sector. Through the 9th Travel Trade Athens, Athens is targeted to target markets, mainly from countries in Europe and the United States.

More specifically:

Questions were raised about the qualitative upgrade of the tourism services offered in the city. A common component of all the proposals was "clean energy and a sustainable city" as a prerequisite for functional development and a healthy and robust society and economy.

Moreover, the mayor of Athens, Mr. Costas Bakoyannis, pointed out the possibility of expanding the operation of the airbnb in the entire basin and in the 129 neighborhoods of the city and stressed the need for qualitative upgrading of public infrastructure, ,the increase of greenery, as well as the regeneration of neglected buildings and areas within the city. "Of course, we have many reasons to be happy about the development of Athens as a tourist destination, as in recent years we have been "breaking" one record after another. To this record, one more is added:Athens, for the first time, welcomes so many investments in its history."

On his part, the Managing Director of Athens International Airport, Ioannis Paraschis, underlined: "As shown by the data available to us since the beginning of the year, but also according to the indications for the summer season, our city is recovering dynamically this year after the adventure of the pandemic."

The president of AEGEAN, Eftychios Vassilakis, among other things, highlighted the clean energy that the airport now uses by 66% through infrastructure that will allow 100% coverage of the needs of the airport in the next few years through clean forms of energy. "The post-pandemic tourism recovery seems to be stabilizing and maturing after a satisfactory summer last year and a year that all points to starting earlier and with increased momentum."

Tim Fairhurst, Secretary General of the European Tourism Organization (ETOA), said that for a demanding tourist, such as the one from America, the lack of green energy infrastructure is a reason to choose a different destination. He also stressed that "a necessary condition for the development of the tourism industry is harmonious cooperation between the public and private sectors".

A common conclusion of the statements is the need for the country, as a European destination, regardless of its own autonomous environment, to invest mainly in its cultural profile, which is the basic proposal of the www.cit.gr