Athens Hoteliers Team Up With Private Marketing Company To Promote Greek Capital

The Greek Parliament at Syntagma Square, Athens. Photo source: ACVB

Marketing Greece General Manager Iosif Parsalis and Athens-Attica & Argosaronikos Hotel Association President Alexandros Vassilikos.

A cooperation agreement aimed to focus on a common strategy for the promotion of the Greek capital to markets abroad was signed on 30 January between the Athens-Attica & Argosaronikos Hotel Association and private marketing company Marketing Greece.

The agreement, signed by the association’s president, Alexandros Vassilikos, and the general manager of Marketing Greece, Iosif Parsalis, sees the launch of new and original promotional actions to attract more visitors to the Greek capital. Actions will include suggestions for day trips in the city and the islands of the Saronic Gulf and informing visitors on important cultural, artistic and sport events that will take place throughout Attica.

Press trips for journalists from the UK, Russia and Germany will be launched to showcase the thematic tourism products of Athens and the Argosaronic Gulf such as congress tourism, citybreak tourism, yachting tourism, etc.

Also underway are international campaigns and contests via the Internet and social media channels to promote the destination and the city’s hotels. Fam trips will also be held to introduce the city to major international tour operators and travel agencies.

“This cooperation protocol simply seals our joint efforts that have already launched,” the hotel association’s president, Mr. Vassilikos, said. The association and Marketing Greece have already worked together to organize a series of successful press trips for journalists of major German and British publications.

Photo source: ACVB

“Athens Urban Resort”

In addition, the whole world will very soon have the opportunity to discover all there is to know about Athens through the new website Discover Greece by Marketing Greece,Mr. Parsalis informed.

The website will have a segment on the Greek capital entitled “Athens Urban Resort” and include a rich photo gallery and fascinating stories. “Our priority is to show potential visitors that the historical capital of Europe is a set of unique experiences,” Mr. Parsalis said.

Athens’ reputation improving

Tourism in the Greek capital went through rough times over the past years due to the economic crisis, forcing city hoteliers to drop their rates to boost declining demand. Some 50 hotels in the greater Athens area are said to have closed down in the last four to five years. Meanwhile, the city’s image was also overshadowed by strikes, demonstrations and street riots and tourists just stayed away.

However, the negative climate towards Athens seems to have come to an end last year and professionals are already talking about a recovery, expected to begin as of this tourism season.