Greece Invites Travelers to Make their Weekend a ‘Greekend’ in New Campaign

The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) on Thursday launched its latest campaign, which is focused on highlighting Greece’s destinations ideal for weekend getaways, in an aim to attract more international visitors to the country’s cities that have suffered tourism losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new creative, with the message “greekend: End your week like a Greek”, is the latest installment in the GNTO’s main “All you want is Greece” campaign and looks to promote the country’s city break destinations by highlighting the beautiful side of life in Greek cities and the rich experiences that guests can enjoy during a greekend*.

“The campaign for greekend* – the Greek weekend – aims to promote a complete tourist product, which can easily compete with other well-known three-day destinations in Europe; and promote Greek cities that offer experiences of gastronomy, entertainment, culture, leisure and quality hospitality services,” GNTO’s secretary general, Dimitris Fragakis, said.

Make your weekend a greekend* – the concept

Greece’s new city break campaign aims to establish the new greekend* concept and promote all major Greek cities that have connections with foreign airports and can guarantee a successful weekend getaway.

The new campaign kicked off on Thursday with Athens and Thessaloniki being “re-introduced” to the world as two major cities ideal for lively city break holidays – places to spend a wonderful urban weekend full of experiences thanks to the excellent weather, the short distances to sites and the innumerable choices for food, drink and entertainment. In other words, all that is needed to keep a visitor “busy” almost the whole weekend.

The campaign’s videos (below) feature a number of distinct experiences visitors can choose from during a weekend in both Greek cities – from taking long strolls, going to museums and art exhibitions to shopping, taking walks on the beach, having coffee in an outdoor cafe, tasting delicious food and checking out the nightlife.

According to Greek Tourism Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, through the campaign the tourism ministry and the GNTO are inviting visitors to discover the known and unknown corners of Greek cities.

“We are starting with Athens and Thessaloniki by highlighting their culture, gastronomy, trade, entertainment, hotels, and of course their absolute comparative advantages: the climate and their people,” Kikilias said.

The Greek minister underlined that the campaign aims to support Greece’s year round city hotels, especially in Athens and Thessaloniki, that have been hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This campaign is the first in a series of actions that we will carry out to invite visitors to safely enjoy an authentic Greek weekend in the major cities of Greece,” he said.

greekends in Athens & Thessaloniki – videos

The new “greekend: End your week like a Greek” tourism promotional campaign will last two months and initially target ten markets that have shown particular interest in Greece, including France, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Israel. The campaign will repeat frequently throughout the year.