1st Athens Santa Run kicks off in December

On Sunday, 7 December 2014, 500 people will dress up in a Santa suit and spread the joy by taking part in a symbolic race for the restoration of the playgrounds of Athens. The 1st Athens Santa Run will be held in the centre of the city and each participant will pay 10 euros to go towards the special cause. The race starts at 11:30am and the route will be approximately 2.5K with the start and finish at the City Link (Voukourestiou & Amerikis corner). The 1st Athens Santa Run is organised by Holmes Place in collaboration with the Spetses mini Marathon team, the City of Athens Cultural, Sport & Youth Organization (OPANDA) and ING are the Gold Sponsor. For more information: www.spetsesmarathon.com

Athens Marathon

The 32nd “Athens Authentic Marathon” of 10 Km and 5 Km, was recently held in Athens on 9 November 2014. With 35,000 runners and 2,200 volunteers from across the globe this year's marathon was one of the most successful ones to date. According to the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS) the numbers speak for themselves with 35,000 participants from 105 countries. The US had the largest number of runners at 1,146. The UK led European countries with 565 participants joining the run. The next Athens Marathon will be held on 8 November 2015. For more information and to sign up: http://www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr/

Crete launches new campaign to highlight the destination's versatility

The region of Crete recently launched the island's latest tourist campaign titled “Crete – The Island Inside You”. In an effort to expand the brand and attract even more visitors, the campaign features six short films thatshowcase several aspects and experiences that make Cretean ideal tourist destination. The narratives were inspired by true stories of tourists who have made Crete their home away from home. The new campaign includes new logos and slogans as well as promotional material. For more info see here: https://www.youtube.com/user/creteregion?feature=watch

New initiative by the Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum recently introduced “Alternating Gallery Talk”, a series of discussions that cover a broad range of topics from the ancient world to introducing different ways of viewing the objects in its collection. Discussions will be held every Saturday in Greek (and in English upon request) by the archaeologists-hosts in the museum's galleries until June 2015. For more information and to see the October 2014 – June 2015 Alternating Gallery Talk full program, follow the link: http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/alternating-gallery-talk

MICE tourism becomes a main focus for Thessaloniki

During the 30th Philoxenia, one of the country's main tourism and hospitality shows, which was held in Thessaloniki between 13-16 November, the Thessaloniki Convention Bureau (TCB) organised “Destination Thessaloniki” in collaboration with the Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO). One of the main focuses of the workshop was setting the groundwork for the development of Thessaloniki into a prime conference destination. Other key points highlighted were the need of an organized plan in order to best utilize the city's offer combined with the creation of a theme-based tourist product. Initiatives like the TCB's “Ambassadors Program” which aims to support local and professionals organize conferences in the city is expected to boost MICE tourism in and around the city by 30% in the next 5 years. For more info see here: http://news.gtp.gr/2014/11/10/thessaloniki-convention-bureau-takes-action-promotes-greek-mice-tourism/

Sympossio Greek Gourmet Touring continues its successful journey in London

The Sympossio Greek Gourmet Touring, an initiative of Aldemar Resorts in collaboration with the GNTO, aims at the promotion of Greece's products and gastronomic culture.  Sympossio has become an annual event bringing together the Greek National Tourism Organisation (www.visitgreece.gr) and Greek producers, chefs, hoteliers, airlines, tour operators and travel trade businesses for an evening to experience and discover the treasures of Greek culinary traditions. This year's 2014 Sympossio - the 5th Gourmet Tour - featured the concept of the Greek ouzerie and concluded its grand tour with two events held in the United Kingdom, London and Manchester respectively. Thirty UK travel agents invited by Olympic Holidays to an evening dedicated to Greek cuisine at The Life Goddess in Store Street (www.thelifegoddess.com), London on 10 November and another 30 invited by Jet2holidays on the following evening 11 November to the Cheshire Cookery School Manchester – cooked and tasted the best cold and cooked dishes that exemplify a typical ouzerie evening. For more info see here: www.sympossio.gr 

Greece and Athens are at the top of the LGBT community's list of holiday destinations

Research data released by leading global travel networking association Out Now Business Class (ONBC) at this year's World Travel Market in London ranks Greece 9th on a list of 10 leading country destinations and Athens9th in the Top 10 European city destinations for 2015. Data was acquired through a survey that asked LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) respondents living in key global markets to indicate which destinations they plan to visit next year from a list of over 300 locations. For more info see here: http://news.gtp.gr/2014/11/05/wtm-2014-greece-tops-gays-list-as-desired-holiday-destination/

New flights to Greece for 2015

BA will be introducing 4 new routes. From 1 May until 20 September 2015, British Airways will fly four times a week to Corfu from London Heathrow. From 1 May until 20 September 2015, there will be a twice-weekly service to the island of Kos from London Heathrow and from 29 April 2015, British Airways will start flying to Rhodes from London Gatwick, operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Heraklion in Crete, one of the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers and a new BA service from Gatwick from 26 April 2015, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays will operate from London Gatwick.

New Monarch services will operate from early summer 2015 from London Gatwick to Rhodes once a week, from London Luton to Zante twice a week; from Manchester to Rhodes once a week and Birmingham to the west coast city of Preveza once a week.

From early summer 2015, Jet2 will also launch a new route from Newcastle International to Zante.

-Ends-

For further press information, please contact: Frances Tuke, Lotus UK, T: 020 7953 7470 E: frances@lotus-uk.co.uk or Panos Papadopoulos, Greek National Tourism Organisation, GNTO UK & Ireland Office, T: 020 74959311, E: media@gnto.co.uk