A ‘Bigger’ Philoxenia Expo to Open in Thessaloniki on Thursday

The 31st Philoxenia, along with the Hotelia and Polis exhibitions, will be inaugurated by Greek Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction (Macedonia and Thrace) Maria Kollias-Tsarouha on Thursday, November 12, at 7:30 pm.

Philoxenia, Greece’s major annual tourism trade show, will welcome exhibitors and visitors in a bigger exhibition space when it opens its doors on Thursday, November 12, at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre. The Philoxenia expo has “grown” by 25 percent in exhibition space.

This year’s Philoxenia will be held together with the Hotelia exhibition and both will aim to send a message of growth and upgrading of the country’s tourism product. Opening in the same venue, on the same day, will be the 10th Polis, an exhibition that brings together local government representatives from all over Greece.

All three expos will run until Sunday, November 15.

The opportunities that arise from the Philoxenia – Hotelia – Polis “triptych” were presented on Tuesday at a press conference of organizers TIF-Helexpo. During the press conference, the President of TIF-Helexpo, Tasos Tzikas, told journalists that the aim is to introduce a renewed and dynamic Philoxenia.

According to organizers TIF-Helexpo, Philoxenia this year will welcome 351 exhibitors — against 232 in 2014 — from Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Egypt, Albania, the Philippines, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Macedonia, Indonesia, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Slovakia). The Hotelia exhibition will welcome 157 exhibitors compared to 141 last year and while the number of exhibitors at this year’s Polis will amount to 64 from 36 in 2013.

Philoxenia will also welcome 107 international hosted buyers from 32 countries who will attend over 3,000 pre-scheduled appointments.

Highlights of the this year’s Philoxenia include the DPOINT Hotel Village, a “neighborhood” dedicated to the design, decoration and renovation of hotels; the “The Art of Drinking Coffee & Spirit” event, which focuses on the art of coffee, cocktails and drinks with the participation of famous bartenders and mixologists from Greece and around the world; and the “Destination Thessaloniki: 365 days of Meetings, Studies, Sports, Cruises and Health” conference which will take place on November 13th.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is a communication sponsor for the 31st Philoxenia.