The Hellenic Initiative, the City of Athens, AEGEAN and Athens International Airport have joined forces for the first time with a common goal: the promotion of Athens as a contemporary cultural centre and an attractive, year-round tourist destination.
The campaign is being financed by the members of the partnership, with the contribution of the City of Athens secured through an exclusive donation by The Hellenic Initiative. The overall coordination of the venture is being carried out by Marketing Greece.
Marking the start of the cooperation is the launch of a dynamic campaign entitled «One City. Never Ending Stories», specifically designed to showcase the Athenian experience. Focusing on the promotion of Athens as a city of boundless possibilities and captivating stories, presented in a modern and exuberant way, the campaign’s central video uniquely illustrates all facets of Athens. In the course of just one minute, 51 images of the city – from the familiar to the lesser known – are unveiled in quick succession; 51 experiential moments from an urban environment seamlessly combining its ancient and modern characteristics and offering something unique all year round.
The campaign’s website www.thisisathens.org is phasing in what will eventually be a total of 103 stories presenting snapshots of daily life in Athens, as well as featuring a broader view of Athenian life over the four seasons of the year. The central video will be followed by three thematic ones. In this way, potential visitors are given a thorough introduction to the city’s vast array of opportunities. In addition to this, the webpage functions as a tool for planning your visit to the city, featuring essential information on museums, sights, events, dining options and entertainment, as well as a profiling the distinctive features of neighbourhoods of the city.
The launch of “One City. Never Ending Stories” puts digital media to full use. This will include electronic and printed advertisements, promotion on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, each social media constituting an important tool in addressing the public and targeting – at the initial stage – mostly travellers from France and Germany. Indeed, the campaign has been designed to reach all the major cities of these two key markets for the Athens tourism product. To this end, the website will be available in English, French and German.
Furthermore, a series of international media and digital influencer visits is being planned, each supported by a specially-designed programme that showcase the full array of experiences offered in Athens and allowing them to relay, in their words, their impressions to readers in their countries.
Representatives of the members of the Athens Tourism Partnership have all embraced the project with great enthusiasm.
The mayor of Athens, Mr Giorgos Kaminis, highlighted the fact that Athens has all the prerequisites to be a popular destination in its own right, and not simply a stopover on the way to Greece’s beautiful islands:
“The partnership for the tourism of Athens is an unprecedented cooperation, with the first tangible initiative being the launch of this innovative campaign. Athens is most definitely on an upward trajectory in the international tourism market, having decisively reversed the picture of the first years of the crisis. Such a big, bold partnership puts us at the forefront of such endeavours.”
The vice president of AEGEAN, Mr Eftychios Vasilakis, echoed the tone of optimism:
“The evolution of the tourist product of Athens – and the way in which this is communicated – requires new ideas, cooperation and a mutual investment of all those involved. The model of multiple small-scale and essentially isolated efforts simply wastes funds and time and must change. We are proud that the Athens Tourism Partnership is being presented today. It represents the considerable effort of the municipality to establish a more effective promotion of the city with the cooperation of AEGEAN and the Athens International Airport. AEGEAN, besides its basic investment in supporting Athens through the addition of 40 new foreign destinations over the last three years which significantly enhance Athens’ city break potential and accessibility to our islands, is also financially supporting the Athens Tourism Partnership. We did not hesitate to respond to the call of the municipality for this common effort. The target is for the team and the platform to mature and the venture to be supported by more private and public bodies so that it becomes an important and effective institution. The crisis has obliged us to cooperate in order to pool funds. If we learn how to do this right and systematically, then this sector will grow exponentially.”
Athens International Airport CEO, Mr Yiannis Paraschis was similarly upbeat about Athens’ burgeoning international profile:
“Since 2014, Athens has been enjoying a “Tourist Spring”, following an exceptionally difficult period. The promotion of the city as a final destination, rather than a stopover, is a strategic target of the airport to cement the city’s foothold in the international tourist market throughout the year.
“In recent years, we have contributed with special focus on the reinforcement of Athens as a destination through a series of bold initiatives. Within this framework, Athens International Airport, together with other private and public bodies, is investing in the strategic branch of the city break. A basic requirement for the city break target is the cooperation between us for the development and promotion of products, services and infrastructure. Collaborations such as the campaign we are announcing today, joining forces with the City of Athens and AEGEAN, are necessary for the consolidation of a common effort, which then needs to be sustained with the support of everyone throughout the whole chain of tourism providers.”
