For the first time, on 16 November, the Travel.gr web portal is organising a major travel conference featuring a plethora of distinguished local and international guest speakers from the worlds of tourism, hospitality, the government, culture, gastronomy and private enterprises related to travel. Taking place at the Lighthouse at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre from midday until the early evening, ‘Greece Talks’ will warmly welcome attendees, offering them inspiration, the most up-to-date news and ideas. Above all, the conference’s pertinent and future-facing panels will vibrantly address numerous timely topics, discussed by leaders and decision-makers in key fields.
Featuring in a Greek and English rendition addressing local and global readers, the Travel.gr portal created by Proto Thema is the most highly visited travel website in Greece. It has become a pre-eminent voice in presenting every up-to-date aspect of Greece, from innumerable multifaceted destinations to every aspect of culture, history and tradition, innovation, gastronomy and lifestyle trends. In the same spirit, ‘Greece Talks’ will be bringing to the fore all the most important perspectives of Greece in relation to travel and tourism.
The conference will commence with a panel on ‘The Role of Tourism in the Future of Greece and How a Destination is Created‘, at which the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be present to engage in an enlightening discussion about how tourism has developed so far in Greece, where it stands today, and what the country’s future tourism prospects are. He will be joined by Achilleas Constantakopoulos, Chairman of TEMES SA, Eftichios Vassilakis, Chairman of AEGEAN and Odysseas Athanasiou, CEO of LAMDA Development.
The panel titled ‘The Impact of Tourism on the Greek Economy‘ with guest speakers Kostis Hatzidakis, Minister of National Economy and Finance, Olga Kefalogianni, Minister of Tourism, Marie N. Daskalantonaki, CEO of Grecotel and Vasilis Psaltis, CEO of Alpha Bank, will raise the topic of financial investments related to tourism infrastructure and the travel market and the core issues that need to be taken into consideration in this sphere.
Taking a deep dive into the complex world of international travel and looking at what travellers today are seeking both in Greece and abroad, the panel ‘Greece and International Trends in Tourism’ will feature speakers who are in leadership roles in the travel industry. Yiannis Retsos, CEO & Co-Owner of Electra Hotels & Resorts, Raul Levis, General Manager at the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, and Vassiliki Mavrokefalou, Director Market Management at Expedia Group, will participate in the talk, moderated by Kostas Panagakis, Principal at Travelworks, discussing not only today’s hottest travel trends but also the shifting landscape of desire among travellers, whose priorities and needs have significantly evolved in the post-COVID era.
As Crete is a leading destination for tourists who are increasingly heading there throughout the year, and who see it as a destination in its own right, Stavros Arnaoutakis the Regional Governor of Crete, will offer a talk about ‘The Global Culture of Crete’ from the distant past until the present day.
Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, will speak about ‘The Uffizi Gallery as a European Museum Case Study’ as well as joining Dr Anna-Vasiliki Karapanagiotou, Director General of the National Archaeological Museum (who will also give a talk about ‘National Archaeological Museum: Revitalising the Museum Experience’) to discuss the ‘The Significance of Culture in the Greek Experience’. The esteemed cultural authorities will address the vital importance of presenting national and international art and culture via an institution in a way that is rewarding, unique and even life-changing for visitors of all ages and from all walks of life.
Design and architecture are some of the event’s top highlights, with acclaimed experts such as Light Designer Eleftheria Deko, Doxiadis+ owner/architect Thomas Doxiadis and interior designer Vangelis Bonios speaking from experience about the optimal presentation and preservation of cultural heritage.
The burning issues of sustainability and the permacrisis will be addressed by Charalampos Giannikopoulos, Founder & Managing Director of Dcarbon, who will talk about ‘Navigating Tourism Amidst Permacrisis and Sustainability’ and Andreas Taprantzis, CEO of AVIS Greece, who will talk about ‘Tourism and “Green” Mobility’.
Certainly there cannot be a conference about Greece without an appetising focus on its famously loved and exemplary gastronomy. Chef and Founder of the Green Garlic Management Ari Vezenes will talk about ‘The Greek Restaurant as a Vehicle of Tourism’, while Master of Wine and ’50 Great Greek Wines’ Founder Yiannis Karakasis will speak about ‘The Identity of Greek Wine’, and Vasilis Kyritsis, Bartender/Co-Owner of internationally awarded bars The Clumsies and Line will share his ideas and expertise on ‘Greek Fine-Drinking’.
The promotion of travel and Greece as a destination will be addressed by social media travel star Jeremy Jauncey, whose talk about ‘”Beautiful Destinations”: A Global Digital Case Study’ will follow another enormously pertinent talk on ‘Social Media and Greek Tourist Destinations’ by travel entrepreneur Katerina Katopis. And as the technological landscape is constantly shifting not only in terms of the internet and social media but also with our growing dependence on AI in our world, Michael Paredrakos, Communication & Brand Strategist at Choose will talk about ‘Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Tourism’.
We welcome our audience to arrive to Greece Talks with curiosity, an eagerness to learn and an open mind and to leave there feeling enriched, enlightened and deeply informed on these critical and fascinating topics, as discussed by Greece’s and some of the world’s leading authorities on travel.
