Hellenic Tourism Organization signs memorandum of cooperation with Municipality of Athens

Aiming at the tourism promotion of the Metropolitan and wider area of ​​Athens and its emergence as an international competitive destination, the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) and the Municipality of Athens through its Development and Tourism Promotion Company (EATA) signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation.

The two bodies are working together, at a time when the tourism industry has suffered the huge consequences of the pandemic, in order to contribute to the recovery of tourism businesses and the strengthening of the local economy through the dynamic promotion of the Greek capital.

The cooperation plan between EOT and EATA concerns strategic actions for the promotion of Athens as:

• An ideal city-break destination all year round
• A novel destination for conferences and large events
• A destination for permanent residence of modern digital nomads
• A destination of youth tourism, senior tourism, gastronomic tourism etc.

The two organizations undertake a joint initiative for the development of a single destination brand, by creating original promotional material for special sectors of tourism, thus maximizing the visibility of Athens.

In addition, as part of the joint actions, the infrastructure of the city serving conference tourism will be recorded, as well as the communication promotion of the initiative of EATA’s “Ambassadors program”, in order to attract new conferences.

In a statement, the general secretary of EOT, Mr. Dimitris Fraggakis, emphasized that: “Tourism in Athens has suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic. A blow that is in fact disproportionate in relation to other destinations in our country, in the last 16 months of the health crisis. We want to reverse this situation and for Athens to play a leading role again in the tourism of our country throughout the year. Our cooperation with the Municipality of Athens aims precisely at the joint effort of a strong and sustainable restart of the capital’s tourism. EOT seeks synergies, as these are one of the “keys” to the recovery of tourism in the post-Covid period, which is why I am glad that we signed the Memorandum of Cooperation with EATA, which sets the framework in which we will move in terms of the promotion of Athens abroad. And because we are proceeding directly with actions, apart from the promotional video, which we presented today and was implemented in collaboration with Travel Channel, we decided that 30% of the program through the “tool” that EOT will implement in the coming months, will be targeted in the projection of Athens. This is just the beginning and other initiatives will follow in the near future “.

On his part, EATA CEO Vangelis Vlachos points out: “In these critical times, joining forces is more valuable than ever. EATA implements a comprehensive project to promote the city, utilizing its two main pillars, “This is Athens”, which is the official guide of Athens abroad and the Office of Conferences and Visitors, which promotes the city’s conference tourism. The cooperation that we are developing with EOT, comes to strengthen our work, since it gives us the opportunity to utilize in the most beneficial way the communication and financial “tools” that we have at our disposal, in order to promote Athens in a targeted way on international markets. Through this partnership, we are creating the ideal conditions for Athens to be promoted as a sustainable, safe, and competitive destination for conferences, leisure tourism, but also long-term accommodation.”

In the context of the cooperation, joint promotion actions will be planned, while the Municipality of Athens through EATA will be able to have a significant presence in the International Tourism Exhibitions, in which the Hellenic Tourism Organization traditionally participates.

EOT submitted for use to EATA a promotional video for Athens, produced in collaboration between the Hellenic Tourism Organization and Travel Channel.

The aim of the video is to highlight Athens as a modern city, whose daily life is inherent in contemporary artistic creation and expression.