Honeymooners, Instagrammers and foodies all agree: Greece is the word.
The European destination is stealing the hearts of travelers eager to discover its blue-domed churches, sizzling souvlaki (beef, pork or lamb meat skewers) and fascinating history.
Last month, Virtuoso named Greece the No. 1 destination on its “Hot List” for 2018, a ranking for countries with the largest percentage of growth in year-over-year bookings. (It also snagged the No. 6 spot on the organization’s most popular destinations for future summer bookings.)
Why the increase in interest? According to Virtuoso, requests for travel to Greece have skyrocketed as a result of pent-up demand from the 2010 government-debt crisis that rocked the nation’s economy and threatened to upend its inbound visitor numbers.
Greece has had a record-breaking number of inbound tourists each year since 2015.
Credit: 2018 Emma WeissmannBut, since 2015, the country has seen economic improvement and received a complete overhaul in tourism strategy. The result is a record-breaking number of international arrivals each consecutive year, according to Elena Kountoura, minister of tourism for Greece.
And now that the country is in the midst of a tourism boom, Kountoura believes that a key part of ensuring that these figures continue to grow is through cross-country partnerships.
One such partnership is with American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), which held its annual Destination Expo in Athens, Greece, from April 14-17.
“It has been a strategic choice we made in our tourism policy to have global travel industry events, such as these, take place in Greece,” Kountoura said as she addressed the attending agents during the conference’s opening session at the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheater. “It’s the most effective way for all market leaders, opinion-makers and trendsetters to promote all the exciting experiences Greece offers. Through your own personal experiences, you become the best ambassadors our country can have.
During the three-day event held at Hilton Athens, the nearly 300 travel agents in attendance met with approximately 200 Greek suppliers. In addition to gathering for the opening reception, agents met with suppliers for one-on-one meetings; walked a tradeshow floor; participated in half- and full-day tours of Athens and its surrounding areas; attended general and education sessions; and participated in pre- and post-conference fam trips around the country’s islands, including Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, Corfu and more.
Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA, addresses agent attendees during the conference’s opening session.
Credit: 2018 ASTAThe conference was planned and produced in conjunction with Federation of Hellenic Associations of Travel and Tourist Agencies. It was the third ASTA Destination Expo held in Greece; the two previous Greece Expos took place in 1967 and 1987, according to Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA.
He says that post-expo surveys are conducted about six months after the conference to help ASTA gauge the success of the event.
“Every association feels and responds to pain, and our association is interesting and unique because the pain we feel is based on agency owners and their businesses,” Kerby said during a closed-door general session for ASTA members. “We have come a long way around the world, and the reason is that we can help agents establish local efforts, trust suppliers and get access to specific destination information that you can only get if you’re here, on the ground.”
Why Attend a Destination Expo?
According to ASTA research, which encompasses survey results from previous ASTA Destination Expo attendees, there are several business advantages to attending on-the-ground expos.
- 98 percent of ASTA attendees say they plan to use the supplier contacts they gained for future bookings
- 94 percent of these members are likely to recommend this event to another agent.
- More than half of attendees who visit destination events with ASTA say it has increased their sales to that destination.
- 76 percent of Destination Expo attendees are likely to do business with a sponsor because of in-person meetings with the company representatives at the events.
- 77 percent of attendees say they expect to send clients to the host destination based on their experiences at ASTA events.
