Tourism workshop on US, Greece begins tomorrow
The Hellenic-American Chamber of Tourism, in association with Martakis Tourism Consultants (MTC), is organizing a tourism workshop themed «Greece-US» tomorrow and Saturday, with the participation of US tourism firms whose annual turnover exceeds $10 million. Hosted at Divani Caravel hotel, the workshop aims to attract American tourists to Greece through targeted promotion and substantial contacts with people who form or substantially affect the preferences and trends of the US tourism market. Participants will include travel agencies, hotels, coach-, car- and boat-rental companies, and airlines and cruise companies both from Greece and the US. There will also be business associations, administrative and cultural officials and US media representatives. The list of speakers contains important names such as Bill Wurtzel, a global tourism advertising expert, and Jim Cronin, head of BCA, addressing the issue of tourism marketing and public relations. The Greek National Tourism Organization’s secretary-general, Haris Kokkosis, will make the keynote speech tomorrow. On Saturday, Greek and US tourism entrepreneurs will have private meetings. Wooing the Arabs Tourism Development Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos has sent an invitation to the Arab business world to boost tourism investments in Greece. He made a visit to Bahrain and Qatar after invitations by Bahrain’s heir to the throne, Seikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. «Our visit to both Bahrain and Qatar, two emerging economic powers in the region and great business and investment markets, was successful,» said Avramopoulos after his return. «A new period is opening with particular optimism regarding investments, as thanks to the new investment incentives law and the new government measures our country is becoming very attractive.» It was announced that from the end of March QatarAir will link Athens with Qatar, while Gulfair will increase flights between Athens and Bahrain. Greek tourism offices will open in both countries.
