Athens ideal for a low-budget Christmas break
Athens ranks among the most popular Christmas holiday destinations in Europe, with inexpensive accommodation to boot, according to data released on Thursday by international hotel price comparison website Trivago.
Athens was 24th out of the 50 most popular European destinations as shown by searches made around the world for the Christmas period. It also ranked joint fourth with Budapest among the most attractive cities in financial terms for hotel accommodation, as the average online rate per night for the period in the Greek capital comes to 74 euros for a double room. Athens was beaten by Valencia (66 euros/night), Krakow (68 euros) and Malaga (73 euros).
The average stay in Athens appears to be six days, with the capital being the only Greek city in the top 50, while Spain has 13 entries.
Meanwhile Athens International Airport (AIA) and Marketing Greece officially presented on Thursday their new campaign to promote Athens as a city break destination, titled “Speak Athenian, Be an Athenian.”
Iosif Parsalis, general manager of Marketing Greece, stated that the new integrated digital campaign, which uses a mix of Greek and English terms with Greek and Latin characters, is aimed at the 24-40 age group. He added that greater emphasis has been placed on attracting visitors from specific countries, among them Germany, France, Great Britain and the US.
AIA’s communication and marketing director, Ioanna Papadopoulou, noted that part of the campaign will involve a series of themed events both at the airport and in the city itself in cooperation with tourism entities and other bodies.
Alexis Galinos, director of the City of Athens’s Development and Tourism Promotion Corporation, stressed the significance of the cooperation of various entities responsible for the promotion of the city, and said that next year his corporation will announce an integrated plan for tourism in Athens with actions aimed at its development as a city break destination.
