The 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop 2019 concluded in The Hague on April 16, with active participation from the “Bike Friendly Hotel” certification label. This recent 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop 2019 marks and contributes to the beginning of a new era for Greek tourism, with the aim of extending the country's tourism season and promoting its alternative tourism products.
The Bike Friendly Hotels label in the cycling ‘heart’ of Europe
The 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop 2019 concluded in The Hague on April 16, with active participation from the “Bike Friendly Hotel” certification label. This recent 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop 2019 marks and contributes to the beginning of a new era for Greek tourism, with the aim of extending the country's tourism season and promoting its alternative tourism products.
The 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop took place at the iconic Madurodam, a unique thematic venue in The Hague. Greek tourism entrepreneurs promoting alternative tourism initiatives joined forces with public agencies to effectively showcase Greece as an ideal year-round tourist destination to professionals from the Dutch tourism market, including representatives from The Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam.
Specifically, at the B2B event, where a total of 459 B2B meetings were held, 93 travel agents and Tour Operators attended, along with 19 Dutch journalists and bloggers specializing in alternative tourism. From Greece, participants included the Regions of Peloponnese, Western Greece, and Crete, the municipalities of Rethymno and Chios, the Halkidiki Tourism Organization, as well as Aegean Airlines, Celestyal Cruises, Costa Navarino, Creta Maris with We Do Local, AXIA Hospitality, Abeliona Retreat of the Aldemar Group, Trekking Hellas, The Ranch, Bike Friendly Hotel, and others.
The “Bike Friendly Hotel” certification label actively participated in the 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop, marking another step in the expansion of the promotion of certified Greek hotels and partners to specialized markets abroad. Specifically, Public Relations Officer Ms. Vicky Karantzavelou attended The Hague and presented the label and network of certified hotels and partners to Dutch travel agencies and tour operators. As part of Bike Friendly Hotel’s participation in the workshop, free overnight stays were raffled off at six hotels in the network.
The event was addressed by the Greek Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mr. Dimitris Chronopoulos, who emphasized the potential of Greece as a tourist destination and the opportunities arising in the relations between the two countries in this sector. Following this, the head of the GNTO Benelux office, Ms. Eleni Skarveli, analyzed the aspects of Greece’s alternative tourism product, highlighting the potential and opportunities for year-round travel to Greece.
Among the highlights of the event was the raffle of 27 prizes for Dutch travel agents, tour operators, and journalists.
The 1st Greek Alternative Tourism Workshop 2019 in The Hague was organized by AVIAREPS in collaboration with Tourism Today, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Hellenic-Dutch Association of Commerce and Industry (HeDA), with the support of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO). The honored region of the event was the Peloponnese Region.
Greece is one of the most popular destinations for outbound travel from the Netherlands. In 2018, a decade-long record was set for arrivals from the Netherlands to Greece (924,434 visitors, an 18.9% increase compared to 2017).
Key characteristics of Dutch tourists:
Dutch travelers choose alternative forms of tourism twice a year.
Value For Money choices.
They love nature and adventure.
One-third of Dutch tourists visiting Greece are repeaters.
They travel directly to Greek destinations year-round.
In 2017, 82% of the population traveled for their vacations (an average of 2.82 trips per person).
50% of their trips are abroad, with one-third to Mediterranean destinations.
