Halkidiki to Host Greek-Russian Tourism Business Forum in June 2018

A Greek-Russian Business Forum for Tourism will take place in Halkidiki in June, the Tourism Ministry said on Thursday.

The forum is one of the main actions set to launch for the Year of Tourism 2017-2018 initiative between Greece and Russia and was among the topics of discussion on Thursday between Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Culture Minister of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova in Moscow.

The meeting between the two ministers took place on the sidelines of the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT) 2018 that opened its doors in Russia on Tuesday.

Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura, Tourism Ministry Secretary General Evridiki Kourneta and Deputy Culture Minister of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova.

During the meeting, the two ministers discussed the program of actions of the tourism year, which also includes multi-day forums and Greek culture festivals in the city of Krasnodar Krai, northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, to take place in June.

According to the tourism ministry, a series of other events promoting Greek tourism in Russian regions will also take place.

During the MITT 2018 exhibition, Manilova signed a cooperation agreement between the Russian Culture Ministry and Mouzenidis Group, which names the Greek travel operator as official partner for the Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 (photo below).

While in Moscow, Minister Kountoura also met with Oleg Safonov, head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm), and discussed the two-year renewal and upgrade of the 2016-2018 action plan of the two countries, as well as targeted promotional events and actions for the promotion of Greek thematic tourism products in the regions of Russia during the tourism season.

Head of Rosturizm, Oleg Safonov and Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura.

Additionally, Minister Kountoura attended a special event for the Greece-Russia Year of Tourism 2017-2018 at the Greek Embassy in Moscow.

The event was also attended by Manilova, the Greek Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Andreas Fryganas, Russian officials, representatives of the Church of Greece and the Synodal Office of Pilgrimage Tours that supports the promotion of religious tourism in Greece, leading Russian tour operators and representatives of Russian media.

The Greek delegation in Moscow, headed by Minister Kountoura, includes Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) President Haralambos Karimalis, Tourism Ministry Secretary General Evridiki Kourneta and GNTO VP Aggeliki Chondromatidou.

Celebrating it’s 25th anniversary this year, the MITT expo will run until March 15.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is an official media partner of MITT 2018.