“This distinction is the “fruit” of our effort to make Athens a leading conference destination, decisively strengthening the city’s economy,” said the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis.

In the 8th place of the world ranking for conference tourism, Athens was found for 2022, according to the evaluation of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), rising a total of eight places from 2019. In this way, the Greek capital is now included in the top ten of the world’s most attractive destinations for events and meetings. The announcement was made in the context of the International Conference Tourism Exhibition IMEX in Frankfurt.

It is indicative that in 2022, based on data from the International Conferences Association (ICCA), Athens hosted a total of 109 international conferences attended by 40,000 visitors, leaving the city with revenues of 87 million euros.

“Athens’ 8th position in global conference tourism is the recognition of a great effort made in recent years by the Municipality of Athens to strengthen the destination in this demanding sector. Through the municipality’s Development and Tourism Promotion Company, Athens is dynamically presented in international markets, claims and wins conferences, significantly strengthening the local economy. The numbers published by the International Association of Conferences for the city are indicative of the magnitude of this distinction that can only make us proud”, said the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, in a statement.

Quadruple revenues from conference tourism

Conference tourism boosts the local economy, but also the sustainability of the destination, as conferences and meetings take place throughout the year. It is even calculated, according to the ICCA report, that each delegate spends 2,162 euros during his stay in the city, an amount four times greater than what an ordinary visitor spends.

The Municipality of Athens achieved the dynamic promotion of Athens at the landmark exhibition of the Conference Tourism IMEX 2023, held from May 23-25 ​​in Frankfurt, during which its specialized staff held meetings with industry representatives. The Athens delegation, from its official viewing point at the EOT Pavilion, presented the advantages of the city as an ideal destination for conferences, meetings and events to tourism professionals who visited the exhibition. The team held more than 50 business meetings with representatives of the conference market.

In the framework of the Greek Meetings Alliance (GMA) partnership, the organization promoting Greece as a conference destination, which have been created by the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Municipality of Athens (This is Athens-CVB), the Association of Greek Event Professionals and Conference Organizers – HAPCO & DES and the Thessaloniki Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCB), a networking event was organized at its stand, hosted by EOT.

EATA’s participation in the international business and conference tourism exhibition IMEX Frankfurt 2023 took place within the framework of the action “Development and Promotion of the Tourist and Cultural Identity of Athens in the post-Covid era”, which has been included in the Operational Program “Attica 2014-2020”, OPS 5104609/Subproject 1.