The opening of the exhibition was held by the Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni and the Secretary General of EOT, Andreas Fiorentinos
With Greece as the honored country, the large international tourism exhibition World Travel Market (WTM) 2024 took place from November 5 to 7 in London.
The opening of the exhibition was carried out by the Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni and the Secretary General of EOT, Andreas Fiorentinos, with Greece occupying a central position in the exhibition facilities and their main entrance being digitally decorated with Greek colors.
In addition to the memorandum of cooperation signed by the Minister of Tourism and the General Secretary of EOT with EasyJet and EasyJet Holidays, Mr. Fiorentinos also had meetings with executives of airlines and tos, such as British Airways, British Airways Holidays, Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays, TUI, Expedia, etc.
He also met with representatives of international media (Euronews, Warner Bros Discovery Group, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) and granted interviews to the international television network NBCU (273 million viewers) and to the British professional magazines Travel Weekly and TTG.
Andreas Fiorentinos: Our tourism strategy is based on sustainability and balance
At the same time, in a press conference for Greek and British media, Mr. Fiorentinos presented Greece’s plan for the period 2025-2026, with an emphasis on sustainability, infrastructure and innovative digital solutions for tourists and local communities. “2024 is expected to be another record year for Greece’s tourism sector, with predicted arrivals reaching around 35 million tourists and total revenues expected to increase by 10% and reach around 22 billion euros. This is driven by the increase in international arrivals and the destination’s focus on sustainability,” he said.
Then he mentioned 300 million. euros from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), announced by the prime minister to modernize infrastructure, address the climate crisis and green growth, noting: “As we grow, we must also focus on preserving our natural beauty, cultural our heritage and our social well-being. OR touristic Greece’s strategy is based on sustainability and balance, values that inspire our approach to development. These principles are embedded in every initiative, investment and interaction as we strive to create a tourism model that benefits visitors, residents and our country alike.”
And he concluded: “Today the challenge for us is to show the world the new Greece, without undermining its identity. If we consider that slow tourism is the trend that allows you to discover the country and its people, then Greece is that destination.”
The General Secretary of EOT also received “The Best Region in Europe” award for the Greek islands from the Wanderlust Awards. Wanderlust magazine has approximately 138,000 readers, 153,000 online subscribers and 1.8 million monthly page views on his website. The annual awards are voted on by its readers, who are primarily high-income earners and focus on culture, nature, gastronomy and sustainability.
Presentation of Greek gastronomy and alternative Greece
During the exhibition, the EOT service of Vassiliou & Ireland held a series of events to promote Greek gastronomy and products from various regions of the country, with the support of the British Masterchef winner, Irene Tzorgzoglou. At the same time, during the opening ceremony and in collaboration with the Municipality of Syrou, the official guests of the exhibition were presented with the traditional breakfast of the island, while on the last day the guests were offered original cocktails from Metaxa, reported APE BEE.
Also, in a special event for the promotion of “Alternative Greece”, which was prefaced by the Secretary General of the EOT, the special forms of tourism offered by the country were highlighted, with thematic sections on sports tourism, hiking, diving and wellness tourism. The event was addressed to tourism professionals, media representatives and influencers and was realized in collaboration with the companies Xterra Greece, Trekking Hellas, Northern Greece Underwater Explorers (NGUE) and Yoodoo corporate wellness.
Finally, for the third consecutive year, EOT organized the Greek Travel Awards with awards in the categories of city breaks, gastronomy, adventure, emerging tourism, instagrammable, sustainable tourism, cultural tourism, luxury, walking tourism and sailing. A total of 13,000 people participated in the relevant vote, who declared their preferences through the IceLolly & TravelSupermarket platform.
It is noted that this year’s event of WTM recorded the largest participation of exhibitors in its history, as it was attended by more than 4,000 representatives of the tourism industry worldwide, marking an increase of 7%, while more than 40,000 people visited it.
