The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) kicked off its Destination Expo in Greece over the weekend with Sunday’s opening session in the Ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus. President of ASTA Zane Kerby, joined by local partner and president of FedHATTA Lysandros Tsilidis and the Honorable Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Ambassador to the United States, greeted 300 travel advisors and more than 200 industry suppliers and tourism executives for the sold-out trade show in Athens, Greece, which is taking place April 14-17, 2018.
Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura, who championed the 2018 Destination Expo, presented the honorary opening remarks, highlighting Greece’s recent tourism growth, increased hotel development and non-stop air connections from the U.S. through increased carrier relationships. The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) also hosted a performance by famous Soprano Miss Anastasia Zanni, who sang renditions of the Greek and U.S. National Anthems along with the Hellenic Navy Band.
“Aiming to establish Greece as a global 365-day destination, we extended the summer season and promoted tourism in the winter season,” said Kountoura. “We introduced new thematic tourism products and new Greek destinations. The United States is an important market to us and through our targeted actions we experienced double digit growth in the last three years. About one million Americans now visit Greece, and demand is growing from year to year.”
Travel agents can follow the event’s highlights on social media at #ASTAADE.
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