Petros Tatoulis, Regional Governor of Peloponnese

Philoxenia 2014 greeting.

The Peloponnese is undoubtedly a privileged and exceptional tourism destination with a huge potential since the early days of global history and which continues to this day. The island of Pelops is a united land with a distinctive presence at the tip of southeastern Europe, but also in the center of the Mediterranean. It is renowned for its rich and diverse cultural reserves, outstanding beauties – whether referring to mountains or coastlines – unique gastronomy and truly hospitable people.

While defining its comparative advantages, as well as its timeless tradition in offering tourism services, we made the development of the Peloponnese tourism product our first priority as soon as we came into office.

Our first concern was to develop the necessary infrastructure, a sector in which the Peloponnese had fallen behind. We upgraded the level of safety and comfort of our road network, which is now one of the best in the country. We invested in the airport of Kalamata, which resulted to its recognition as the first regionally developed airport, with the potential of further development. We have worked hard and methodically for the Tripoli military airfield to operate as a civil airport. This transformation is already in effect, so that we can soon convert it into a top low-cost hub of the Mediterranean. We are completing interventions to the port of Gythio, which we have included as a cruise destination, as well as to the port of Nafplio, whose marina will be the first to be finished via PPP (Private Public Partnerships). Interventions to the marina of Monemvasia will follow next. We are relaunching the Peloponnese railroad network to cater to tourism needs through a connection to places of culture and holidays.

A concern of equal importance was to establish the brand name “Peloponnese” and make it internationally renowned. During our travels abroad, we introduced “Mythical Peloponnese” to many international destinations and tourism markets that are significant to our region. According to leading tour operators, this resulted to the Peloponnese becoming one of the most dynamically developed tourism destinations. Our strategy and methods were confirmed once the Peloponnese was announced as the host destination for the 2015 Travel Convention of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). It should be noted that 30 renowned tourism destinations/countries were claiming this conference.

Our aim is the sustainable development of our tourism product with an emphasis on theme tourism and, at the same time, we aspire to achieve collaborations with national and international bodies.

I invite you to visit “Mythical Peloponnese”, to let its history take you back in time, to enjoy its lovely beaches and traditional villages with their warm and hospitable residents, to taste its unique gastronomy and to create your own personal experience, your own piece of history.