Five cities have invested in impressive, themed Christmas parks to boost their tourism product, or even “create” it.
More or less on Christmas days all the cities of Greece decorate streets and squares and “wear” their festive clothes. However, five cities have invested in impressive, themed Christmas parks enhancing their tourism product, or even “creating” it.
Trikala – Mill of the Elves
Trikala was not always a tourist destination. Most travelers headed to Meteora and less often chose to visit the town of Trikala. However, 12 years ago, when the “Mill of the Elves” began to operate, which gradually turned into a spectacular Christmas park, Trikala began to acquire a warm audience and today it is bustling with tourism.
As explained by the mayor of Trikkaia, Dimitris Papastergiou, speaking to the Athenian and Macedonian News Agency, the 42 days of operation of the Mill are the peak of tourist traffic in the area. For example, the previous weekend, 550 tour buses arrived in the city while the park received more than 75,000 visitors.
“Today Trikala has entered the tourist map for good. It is a beautiful city with smiling people and has a lot to offer the visitor. Tourism has boosted investments and local development,” the mayor noted.
Drama – Dream City
The Christmas park that appeared for the first time in Greece – in an also not so popular tourist destination – was the Dream Town of Drama. There are many reasons to visit Drama, but Dream City is certainly now one of the most powerful.
The municipality assigned the creation of Dreamtown to the Dreamworkers group, of which Grigoris Avanidis is also a member: “We started on December 17, 2004 with the Dreamtown of Drama and this was the beginning for all the Christmas parks that were created later. Until then, Christmas in Greece was only a tree and a manger”, says Mr. Avanidis.
Oneiroupoli today, as pointed out by the president of the Hoteliers’ Union of Drama, Aggelos Kallias, gives around 90% occupancy in the region’s hotels for the festive season, while this year’s December, on average, seems to be the best of the five years.
Volos – The Top Fairy Tales of the World
“The Top Fairy Tales of the World in Volos” is this year’s Christmas park (opened on December 1st) that those who choose this destination will have the opportunity to visit. And from what it seems, there are many, as the deputy mayor of Volos Tourism, Georgia Bodou-Tokali, explains, as because of Christmas there are high occupancy rates in the accommodations not only in the city of Volos and Pelion, but also in the coastal areas, which was not the case in the past .
Katerini – The Christmas Museum
In Katerini this year, the “Christmas Museum” which opens on December 15, is coming to strengthen its tourist product.
The first nationwide “Christmas Museum” will be hosted in the imposing Cultural Center “Ninea Muses” and the authorities believe that it will take off the Christmas atmosphere of the city, “expecting to take off the tourist traffic in it as well”, reports the Deputy Mayor of Tourism Katerinis Maria Terzidou.
Komotini – The Christmas Adventures of Pinocchio
“The Christmas Adventures of Pinocchio” starting on the 10th of December, is the first theme park to operate this year in Komotini, which is now strongly focused on the tourism development of the city, as it has all the guarantees to turn into an interesting and attractive destination, such as points out the Deputy Mayor of Tourism Petros Zografou.
“The creation of the Christmas park is part of the goals we set to strengthen the winter tourist season and we chose the professionals who created the Elf Mill, Dream Town and other theme parks to transform the central square into a fairytale space for residents and our visitors. This has already seemed to pay off as the interest shown by the people is particularly high”, underlined Mr. Zografou, who emphasized that the municipality generally invests in thematic forms of tourism with an emphasis on sports and school tourism.
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I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
