People ask about gastronomy, sightseeing, natural beauty and walking tourism
Increased by 45% compared to 2023 are for 2024 the pre-bookings for the tourist season from Dutch audience, according to travel and tourism companies SUNWEB and TUI. This became known at the International Tourism Fair “Vakantiebeurs 2024”, held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, with the participation of the Tourism Organizations of Thessaloniki, Halkidiki and Pieria and the Region of Central Macedonia.
In particular, there was a large attendance at the Organizations’ stand, while a strong interest of visitors in the 50+ age group was observed for information about the duration of the tourist season, gastronomy, sights, natural beauties and walking tourism. Her city Thessaloniki once again aroused the interest of the Dutch as a year-round city break, while it is important that Pieria with Mount Olympus and its 80 kilometers of coastline is dynamically entering the tourist map. Importantly, during the exhibition, the Dutch magazine KALA Magazine hosting extensive articles on Halkidiki and Thessaloniki was distributed free of charge as a result of the journalist familiarization trip implemented by the respective Organizations last year.
In her statements, the deputy regional governor of the Metropolitan Unity of Thessaloniki and president of the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization, Voula Patoulidou, emphasized that the strategic planning of the Organization is to make Thessaloniki a modern city break destination in the Dutch market. It is, he said, a market with high incomes, several year-round flight options, travel literacy and politeness that also travels outside the peak season.
According to APE BEE, the president of the Tourist Organization of Halkidiki, Grigoris Tasios, described the Dutch market as an important and growing market for Halkidiki, with upward trends. “Last year we had an increase of 18% compared to 2019, reaching 25,000 packages, while the number of independent travelers (20,000) who visited the destination was the same. The momentum that has developed in recent years for Halkidiki, especially with Transavia’s daily direct flight in the summer months, seems to continue for 2024 as well,” he added.
