ATEDCo: a major player at the London World Travel Market

As part of its plans to develop international networks and to promote Athens on international markets - and especially the UK market - in a targeted manner, the Athens Tourism and Economic Development Company as an official tourist entity of the City of Athens took part in the World Travel Market (WTM) event and engaged in important discussions with representatives of leading tour operators, the international media and international tourism bodies.

At the same time, ATEDCo also participated in the Tourism & Property RoadShow, where Athens was the featured destination. The CEO of ATEDCo, Panagiotis Arkoumaneas, made a speech at the RoadShow official dinner, referring to Athens' role as a tourist destination and to ATEDCo's plans for the immediate future. During the scheduled series of meetings with international media, tourist bodies and real estate companies, which took place at the Foreign Press Association premises on 12 November 2008, ATEDCo presented Athens' progress in terms of tourism supply and demand throughout the pre- and post-Olympic periods, and tour operators' estimations for its future course based on primary research surveys that had been carried out. In addition, the competitive advantages and key success factors of Athens, as a conference and city break destination, and the ATEDCo action plan for tourism development and for promoting metropolitan Athens, were presented.

Taking into consideration the current situation, when it comes to implementing its plan to promote Athens to the international tourism market, ATEDCo is focusing its energies both on countries which are traditional tourist markets, and on up-coming markets worldwide. ATEDCo's objective is to highlight - via targeted advertising and promotional measures - new aspects of the Athens tourism product such as modern infrastructure, recently renovated hotels, a fully regenerated historical centre, direct access to the sea, islands and countryside, a wealth of gastronomic delights, and forthcoming urban regeneration and cultural projects.