Dynamic presence of Bike Friendly Hotels at tourism exhibitions
The network of certified cyclist-friendly hotels, Bike Friendly Hotels, had a booth at the 34th Philoxenia-Hotelia exhibition, held from November 9-11 at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center. The goal was to promote these hotels to the public of Thessaloniki, as well as to the Hosted Buyers invited annually by the exhibition.
The certified Bike Friendly Hotels now exceed 50 across Greece, offering services to cyclists to facilitate their cycling excursions. The Bike Friendly Hotels label will be present at all tourism exhibitions in Greece for 2018, including the 100% Hotel Show, Xenia, and the Athens International Tourism Expo, promoting cycling tourism to visitors of these exhibitions.
Additionally, the label will be present at the Grecka Panorama exhibition, the only international exhibition dedicated solely to Greece, which will take place on December 1-2, 2018, in Warsaw, Poland.
“When cyclists are looking for accommodation, it is certain they will prefer those establishments bearing the ‘Bike Friendly Hotel’ label, as is the case in other European countries. We were delighted to speak to the Hosted Buyers at the Philoxenia exhibition about cycling tourism in Greece and found that they were not particularly well-informed. We will do the same at the upcoming exhibitions, and we have already arranged many meetings with travel agencies interested in cycling tourism,” said Ms. Vicky Karantza-Velou, public relations officer of NATTOUR.
NATTOUR, in collaboration with the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN), recognizing the growing demand in the cycling tourism market, which has been expanding rapidly in recent years, created a new label, the “Bike Friendly Hotel” for Greece, following international criteria that promote sustainable mobility. By differentiating their product in their region with the acquisition of the label, hoteliers become more competitive and attract cyclists from Greece and around the world. The goal is to provide an organized level of accommodation for Greek and international lovers of cycling tours and sports.