Western Greece’s new, modern and dynamically extroverted profile is being built on a triptych of pillars, primary production, culture and tourism, Nektarios Farmakis, Regional Governor for Western Greece, noted, amongst other things, at the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair, involving the administrative region’s participation.
The Western Greece administrative region’s presence at the Thessaloniki International Fair, on the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, was a resounding success, Mr. Farmakis highlighted. The land of Kalavryta, where the uprising was sparked, and Mesolonghi, the site of a dramatic siege during the Greek War of Independence, have played leading roles in the development of a region that has projected the history of Hellenism over 3,000 years.
Furthermore, Thessaloniki International Fair visitors were given the opportunity to discover the tourism potential of Western Greece and also become acquainted with the region’s quality food products of PDO and PGI status. The region’s authorities aim to promote Western Greece as a year-round destination. During his visit to the fair, the Regional Governor for Western Greece met with political, financial and social figures of the country and Europe.
“We are certain that the addition of necessary and significant infrastructure in the region, combined with the major financial support programme for tourism infrastructure, as well as the promotional campaign for tourism that we have already launched, can transform Western Greece into a new protagonist,” Mr. Farmakis pointed out.
It is worth nothing that Western Greece’s regional administration is, once again, this year, implementing a tourism promotion plan with initiatives adjusted to the pandemic’s difficult conditions.
These initiatives are designed to supplement the tourism projection programme that will be funded through the National Strategic Reference Framework NSRF until 2023, its budget being 4 million euros. This year, the programme has focused on international arrivals from main markets at Patras’ Araxos Airport.
In addition, emphasis was placed on the domestic market, which greatly supported regional tourism activity in 2020, the Olympia Odos and Ionia Odos motorways being key factors. Furthermore, initiatives were taken for the use of innovative technologies to promote specalised tourism sub-sectors such as gastronomic and religious tourism, as well as regions of particular ecological importance.
