Greece Reaches Out to South Korean Travel Market

As part of its ongoing strategy to reach out to more markets, the Greek Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) discussed ways to increase incoming tourist flows from South Korea during a dinner organized recently as part of a familiarization trip for major south Korean tour operators.

Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki and Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development Olympia Anastasopoulou had the chance to meet up with the representatives of South Korea’s leading tour companies on the sidelines of the fam trip, organized by the AHEPA Achaia branch “Restart of the Greek Economy” initiative in collaboration with the Attica Region, the GNTO, and the Greek Embassy in Seoul.

Issues discussed included boosting cooperation in tourism and the possibility of restoring direct year-round charter flights from Seoul to the Greek capital. According to the GNTO statement, a representative from Hanjin Travel, a subsidiary of Korean Air, confirmed the restart of charter flights from Seoul to Athens in the fall.

Participants in this month’s fam trip included representatives from Lotte Tour, Hana Tour and Hanjin Tour, who had the chance to visit Athens-Attica, Corinth, Rhodes, and Santorini, where they met with local travel and hospitality stakeholders, visited archaeological sites and wineries.

The aim of the trip was to introduce Korean travel and tourism professionals to new destinations and Greece’s unique cultural, historical, archaeological and gastronomic offerings.