Athens is Gearing Up to Host Greece’s ‘Hospitality Forum & Awards 2015’

Leading figures of the Greek hospitality industry will participate in the Hospitality Forum & Awards event that will take place in Greece for the first time on June 17 at the Ethniki Conference Center in Athens.

The event, jointly organized by Ethos Events and Hrima magazine, comes to highlight the keys for boosting the economic growth of Greek hotels by indicating funding solutions for the improvement of profit margins of hotel businesses. Experts will also reveal debt settlement options for hoteliers as well as motives for upgrading hospitality products.

Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura will open the forum with a keynote address. The forum’s program will include four panel discussions on key topics of the Greek hospitality industry.

Greek Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura. Photo © GTP

The forum will see the participation of many international renowned tourism figures such as Makis Zaharatos, General secretary,  Hellenic Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism; Dimosthenis Brousalis, General Director, Dasc Branding; Anastasios Zagorianos, Partner, General Director, DIADIKASIA SA  Companies Consultants; Alexandros Kelaiditis, Chief Investment Officer, Dolphin Capital Opportunities; Maggie Kontou, Head of Operations, SimpleApps; Konstantinos Lagonikas, Senior Manager Non Motor, International Life; Paris Tsartas, Professor of Tourism, Aegean University & Director, Graduate Program Tourism, Greek Open University; and Eric Engelen, Founder, Passion for luxury.

Hospitality Awards 2015

The crowning event will be the Hospitality Awards 2015 ceremony, which will take place after the forum and during a gala dinner where 46 awards will be presented in a total of four categories. The awards aim to reward and spotlight Greek hotel enterprises that stand out for their innovative practices in the hospitality sector.

In addition, two honorary distinctions will be presented:
– Greek Hospitality Leader
– Greek Hospitality Rising Star

The winners of the awards will have been chosen by a specialized committee with global knowledge on the hotel market. The members of the committee are:

– Aggeliki Varela, General Manager for Promotion, Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO)
– George Vernikos, General Secretary, Greek Tourism Confederation (SΕΤΕ)
– Μenelaos Daskalakis, former General Secretary for Communication and Post offices
– Αlexios – Μichail Defner, Head of the Interdepartmental Postgraduate Studies Program ‘Design and Development of Tourism and Culture’, University of Thessaly
– Kostas Palaskonis, President, General Panhellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET)
– Ioanna Papadopoulou, Marketing & Communications Manager, Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”
– Alexandros Kalomoiros, Deputy Secretary General of the Board, SESMA
– Vaggelis Stylianides, President & CEO, 3SK Stylianides Architects
– Paris Tsartas, Professor of Tourist Development, University of the Aegean & Head, Postgraduate Tourist Program, Hellenic Open University
– Lissandros Tsilides, President, Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATΤA)

GTP is a communication sponsor of the event.