Chania is dynamically preparing for the new tourist season, with the indications so far being very optimistic.

The tourism promotion of the place also plays a decisive role in shaping the positive climate, which includes a series of actions which are planned and promoted through the tourist promotion program for 2024 of the municipality of Chania.

As stated in the introductory report, the main points of which are presented by the RES-MPE, “Chania is an extremely safe, welcoming and attractive destination that is able to provide a multitude of options for experiential tourism, covering the entire spectrum of thematic tourism and the four seasons of the year. They have satisfactory infrastructures, which are constantly being improved with the efforts of all public and private bodies involved and with the use of the respective financial tools”.

Strong dynamics

The strong dynamics of Chania as a tourist destination is reflected in Fraport’s data for Chania Airport “Ioannis Daskalogiannis”, according to which 3,648,416 passengers were handled in 2023 (a 10.9% increase compared to 2022).

As he comments in APE-MPE o Deputy Mayor of Tourism Nektarios Psaroudakis “maintaining the tourism product of Chania in the first places of tourists’ preferences, requires the planning of appropriate actions and actions with the aim of highlighting the special elements of Chania and their promotion, optimizing the services and tourist products provided and creating new ones, as well as the addition of new markets – countries of origin. Necessary in this direction is the stable and close cooperation with all public and private bodies at the local and national level, but also the development of relations with counterparts abroad as well as with the Greek diaspora, with the aim of forming the most ideal protection conditions and further development of the tourism product”

The 2024 goals

For 2024, the main goal of the tourist promotion program of the Municipality of Chania is to highlight the tourist wealth of the place in an integrated way in order to develop the thematic tourism – experiential tourism, to achieve the extension of the tourist season and to increase the attendance of high-quality tourists.

Special forms of tourism

In this context, the development and promotion of special forms of tourism can create personalized products as well as specialized benefits and services that will aim to satisfy visitors-tourists, through authentic experiential experiences of thematic tourism, whatever season they choose as their destination the Municipality of Chania . The purpose is to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of the provided tourist product, to improve the quality and increase the quantity of the services provided and ultimately to extend the tourist season.

Key axes of this effort are the development of sports tourism, culinary tourism, religious-pilgrimage tourism, wedding tourism, urban tourism, television and film production tourism, conference tourism as well as educational tourism.

In order to attract new visitors, an important role is played by online tools, advertising and promotion of the Municipality of Chania, the realization of training and skill development seminars for the people of tourism in Chania, the commission and conduct of research and studies, the organization of events and festivals, guided tours within the geographical boundaries of the municipality, the informative marking of sights and monuments, the hosting of tourist agents and journalists, the participation in tourist exhibitions and the search for new markets.

The infrastructures are a key pillar of the whole effort, while actions such as the luggage storage station at key points of the city, the tourist kiosks, the KEP tourism operation, contribute significantly to the improvement of the tourist product.