Philoxenia 2015 Wrap Up – Photo Report by the Greek Travel Pages (GTP)
Among the largest sector events in Greece, the Philoxenia – Hotelia – Polis fairs this year jointly held on November 12-15 in Thessaloniki, won over the crowds, reporting a 17 percent increase in participation for 2015 with the number of foreign buyers up by 39 percent for Philoxenia and 78 percent for Ηotelia, according to organizers TIF-Helexpo.
31st Philoxenia
At Philoxenia, a total of 107 hosted buyers from 32 countries made more than 3,000 scheduled B2B appointments with exhibitors to discuss tourism-related issues and pave the way for future collaborations.
Greece’s leading tourism exhibition welcomed 351 exhibitors — against 232 in 2014 — from Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Egypt, Albania, the Philippines, Azerbaijan, Armenia, FYROM, Indonesia, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Slovakia). The Hotelia exhibition welcomed 157 exhibitors compared to 141 last year.
Highlights
The Philoxenia trade show, which serves as a podium of exchange and a channel of communication for Greek tourism professionals, featured a series of parallel events including the “Destination Thessaloniki” conference.
Key attraction of this year’s Hotelia once again was the DPOINT Hotel Village. At the same time, “Τhe Art of Drinking Coffee & Spirit” of the Polis show proved to be a success drawing in the crowds with its secrets on creating the finest and most innovative coffees, cocktails and drinks.
Parallel events
Parallel events held during this year’s Philoxenia included the annual awarding of the best travel agency brochures and websites by the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA); the Hellenic Hotel Federation’s annual council of hotel associations and a presentation by Mouzenidis Group.
Exhibitors @ Philoxenia 2015
Greek destinations @ Philoxenia 2015
Moments @ Philoxenia 2015
Organizers are already planning next year’s event, set to take place on November 17-20, 2016, traditionally at the TIF-Helexpo center in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.
The joint fairs were held under the auspices of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Ministry, the Greek National Tourism Organization, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, the Hellenic Association of Travel & Tourist Agencies (HATTA) and the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers.
The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) was a communication sponsor for Philoxenia.