New Deal Europe: B2B Tourism Event for Greece, Southeast Europe in London on March 28

The New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum, a primary tourism event for Southeast Europe, will open its doors at the Congress Centre in London on March 28.

Taking place this year in a new venue in central London, the event is focused on the promotion of twelve destinations of Southeast Europe, covering everywhere from Slovenia in the north to Greece in the south.

More specifically, the event connects tourism suppliers (tourism boards, DMCs, hotels, attractions, ground transport providers and airlines) from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Greece with buyers (tour operators and travel agencies) from the UK, Ireland, the US and beyond in a series of one-to-one meetings.

In addition to the prearranged B2B meetings, the event will include a stimulating content session with a keynote panel discussing the outstanding tourism growth in the region. Inspiring destination presentations from national tourism boards will also take place.

New Deal Europe group and Jacobs Media Group at the Congress Centre, the event’s new venue in London. Photo source: New Deal Europe

According to the event’s founders, Robert Dee and Tine Murn, a record attendance is expected at the 2023 B2B marketplace which this year comes back as an in-person event since all Covid restrictions have been lifted.

The event will see the attendance of representatives from both city and seaside destinations, as well as rural activity break specialists, covering the entire range of what’s on offer in Southeast Europe.

“We are confident that this year’s event will continue to educate and inspire operators to feature this exciting and still undiscovered region of Europe and we look forward to seeing many new faces at the Congress Centre on March 28,” Dee said.

On his part, co-founder and director of the event, Tine Murn, told GTP Headlines that he is pleased with the response from the market and from the twelve destinations.

“Judging by the event registrations we have to date, we will have some of the most important tour operators and travel agencies from Ireland and the UK, and also some key buyers from overseas partners,” he said.

Huge interest for northern Greece

New Deal Europe event founders, Robert Dee and Tine Murn, during their recent visit to northern Greece. Photo source: New Deal Europe

Having recently returned from a trip to Thessaloniki, Murn highlighted that there is a huge interest for developing tourism links in English speaking markets across the regions of northern Greece.

“At WTM 2022 we briefly met with Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias who suggested we focus our promotion on the regions of northern Greece. We responded to that call and visited Thessaloniki, Ioannina and the area of Tzoumerka last week,” Murn told GTP Headlines.

According to Murn, the regions of Central Macedonia and Epirus offer endless tourism potential and are still relatively untapped from the perspective of UK and US buyers.

New Deal Europe event founders, Tine Murn (left) and Robert Dee (right) with Central Macedonia Region Deputy Governor for tourism, Alexandros Thanos and Meli Tours GM Alexandros Melikokis. Photo source: New Deal Europe

“We have invited a delegation from these destinations to join us in London. We are looking forward to working with the main tourism stakeholders in the area and showcasing all that these beautiful regions have to offer to the travel trade in the UK, Ireland, USA and other English-speaking markets,” he added.

Alexandros Melikokis, the general manager of Thessaloniki-based Meli Tours, one of the biggest DMCs in northern Greece, is no stranger to the New Deal Europe Marketplace and has been attending ever since it first began in 2020.

New Deal Europe event founders, Tine Murn (second from left) and Robert Dee (second from right) at the office of Meli Tours, an inbound DMC specialising in Northern Greece. They are pictured with (from left) Paris from Meli Tours, Dimitris Melikokis (founder) and Alexandros Melikokis (GM). Photo source: New Deal Europe

“Each year it gets bigger and better. I’m looking forward to attending in 2023 and to working in partnership with local suppliers and the team at New Deal Europe to drive more business to our fantastic region,” he said.

Attendance to the New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum is free for qualified operators and agents. Registration is open until March 1 via the NDE website www.newdealeurope.com/buyers.

The New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum event is organised by New Deal Europe group in partnership with Jacobs Media Group, leading travel and tourism event organisers in the UK and owners of Travel Weekly UK news site.