Greece To Be Country Partner of WTM Latin America

Greece will be partner country for the World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America that will take place 23-25 April in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as announced by WTM.

The country partnership with WTM Latin America is designed to further increase ties between Brazil and Latin America and Greece.

Tourism today is a driving force behind the Greek economy. With trip options that range from cruises around its island paradises, like Mykonos and Santorini, visits to the monument ruins of the Athens Acropolis, like the Parthenon, Greece received around 17 million tourists last year. Government expectation is that it will reach 18 million this year.

Greece will be represented by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) at WTM Latin America.

“Greece as a tourist destination is growing in popularity in Brazil and Latin America. With this in mind, WTM Latin America was the perfect event to help us firstly cement and then further grow the interest in Greece from South America,” the secretary general of the GNTO, Panos Livadas, said.

According to WTM, Greece, as the fundamental pillar of Western culture – with its beautiful beaches, rich cultural history and monuments that are thousands of years old – has attracted growing numbers of Brazilians in recent years.

Brazilian tourists during their vacation on Milos, Cyclades – 2010. Photo: GTP

“With all its history and culture Greece has had a long and successful partnership with the World Travel Market, and now it’s going to be able to promote itself strongly in the Latin American market,” the director of WTM Latin America, Lawrence Reinisch, said.

There has been some sizable growth in the number of Brazilians visiting Greece in recent years, according to a study by the European Travel Commission (ETC) conducted in partnership with Oxford Economics. Between 2008 and 2013 arrivals from Brazil grew by 36 percent and the Country currently provides just under 40,000 visitors to Greece per year. Visitors from Argentina, for example, hit 22,000 in 2013.

“The large increase in the purchasing power four middle class in the last decade has allowed people access to culture tourism products and services, which used to be dreamed about by many but were within the grasp of few. Greece will see more and more Latin America tourists over the next few years,” Mr. Reinisch added.

WTM Latin America 2014 takes place from April 23-25 at the Transamerica Expo Centre in Sao Paulo, simultaneously with the 41st edition of the BRAZTOA Business Meeting.