Rhodes Selected as Host Destination for TripAdvisor’s First ‘Destination Academy’ Event in Europe

TripAdvisor’s community education programme for destinations – DATA – is coming to Rhodes

The island of Rhodes has been selected as the first European destination to host the Destination Academy with TripAdvisor (DATA) event.

The DATA event is an initiative by E-Tourism Frontiers and TripAdvisor to bring together destination managers, marketing executives and digital media experts at regional events to discuss the growing importance of user-generated content in travel planning. The DATA event was first held in 2014 in Singapore and this year took place in Victoria Falls. This is the first DATA event to be held in the Mediterranean.

The event will take place on Rhodes on May 3-4, 2016, and aim to improve the way destinations use digital tools and content created by travellers. Such events include interactive training sessions, guided discussions, best practices, destination case studies, multimedia, as well as analysis and trends from TripAdvisor.

The tourism department of the South Aegean Region is co-organizing of the event.

Chad Shiver, Senior DMO Sales Executive of TripAdvisor, with Marietta Papavasileiou, Vice Governor of Tourism for the Region of South Aegean.

“E-Tourism Frontiers, TripAdvisor and the South Aegean Region are working together to organize the first DATA MEDITERRANEAN event on Rhodes”, Chad Shiver, Senior DMO Sales Executive of TripAdvisor, said in an announcement on Tuesday.

According to Mr Shiver, sessions at the event will focus on contemporary practices of digital tourism marketing, traveler preferences, crisis management and more.

“The whole event will highlight the hospitality, beauty and history that Rhodes has in abundance”, he added.

On her part, Marietta Papavasileiou, Vice Governor of Tourism for South Aegean Region, said that hosting the event on Rhodes highlights the dynamics of the region towards a demanding audience with tourism expertise.

Rhodes. Photo © P Phillips / Shutterstock

Rhodes was selected as the host destination for the DATA MEDITERRANEAN event following a series of meetings that took place between the South Aegean Region, Tripadvisor’s Chad Shiver and Damian Cook, CEO and founder of E-Tourism Frontiers.

“It proves that our islands have the prerequisites to host such important events and the mechanism to do it successfully”, Ms Papavasileiou added.

She added that the region aspires for the event, which will also allow delegates the chance to explore the host destination, to be one of the greatest ever hosted on Rhodes.

Participation in the DATA MEDITERRANEAN event on Rhodes is by invitation only.

Entries from Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Malta, Croatia and the Canary Islands have already been covered and the registration process continues with other tourist areas around the world.