Key Tourism Figures 2017: Alex Galinos, CEO Athens Development & Destination Management Agency (ADDMA)

Official Tourism Message

On the occasion of the WTM London 2017, I would like to take this opportunity to address the City of Athens Development and Destination Management Agency’s agenda for establishing Athens as a year round destination.

Our destination is flourishing in both the city break and meeting industry indexes. As we prepare to welcome 5 million for the first time, we are heartened by the revival of the tourism sector and remain committed to forge ahead with our strategic goal, to establish Athens as an attractive city break and contemporary culture destination.

We know tourism and culture are two crucial drivers for the recovery of the city’s local economy. We have undertaken important initiatives, investing in outward reach and innovation, networking and effective planning, and will continue to work towards attracting visitors through the lens of sustainability: environmental, economic and social.

The launch of the Athens Tourism Partnership, between the City of Athens, AEGEAN and Athens International Airport, allows us to plan integrated campaigns and pool resources to secure this.

At the same time, through the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau we are launching a new course of activities to reposition the City of Athens in the Meetings Industry and promote the Greek capital as a world-class meeting and convention destination. Athens has managed to climb many places to establish itself as one of the 25 top convention tourism destinations in the world (ICCA 2016 Index).

The City of Athens will be focusing on projects showcasing the destination’ s extrovert personality and networking dynamics while promoting the city’ s high professionalism in event organization and its knowledge economy potential.  A few weeks back, we held the first leg of an Athens Roadshow in London and are looking to expand to more cities within 2018.