A particularly significant and proud moment for the Greek exhibition community took place during the UFI European Conference 2026, held in Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye, when UFI \u2013 The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry presented a special honorary award to Kyriakos Pozrikidis in recognition of his longstanding and substantial contribution to the development of both the Greek and international exhibition industry.<\/p>\n
The award was presented before leading executives of the global exhibition sector from dozens of countries, acknowledging a professional career spanning nearly four decades and closely linked to the growth, internationalization, and enhancement of the reputation of the Greek exhibition market.<\/p>\n
In its tribute, UFI highlighted Kyriakos Pozrikidis\u2019 service at TIF-HELEXPO from 1987 to 2025, his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, his participation on the UFI Board of Directors, his role as Vice Chair of UFI\u2019s European Chapter, and his decisive contribution to hosting two UFI European Conferences in Thessaloniki, in 2008 and 2025.<\/p>\n
This distinction goes beyond the recognition of an individual career. It also constitutes recognition of Greece\u2019s enduring presence and contribution to the global exhibition landscape, at a time when the sector is gaining increasing strategic importance for economic development, international outreach, and business tourism.<\/p>\n
The presentation of the new study conducted by HEEA (Hellenic Exhibition Industry Association) received particularly positive feedback during the UFI conference proceedings. The study systematically records and evaluates the economic impact of exhibitions in Greece.<\/p>\n
The study highlights the sector\u2019s significant contribution to the national economy, estimating that exhibition activities in Greece generate more than 1.5 million overnight stays annually, while the total economic expenditure associated with these activities exceeds \u20ac342 million per year.<\/p>\n
The research findings attracted considerable interest from representatives of international exhibition organizations and executives from the global exhibition industry, as they clearly demonstrate the role of exhibitions as a driver of tourism, trade, investment, and regional economic development.<\/p>\n
The UFI honorary distinction and the warm reception of the HEEA study together convey a powerful message about the present and future of the Greek exhibition industry: a message of international recognition, outward-looking development, and growth prospects. They confirm that Greece now has a meaningful presence and a well-documented voice in the global dialogue on the future of exhibitions.<\/p>\n
The Hellenic Exhibition Industry Association (HEEA) is a non-profit organization established in 2022 to represent the exhibition industry at both national and international levels. Its mission is to contribute to the development of the Greek exhibition industry and the companies operating within it through coordinated initiatives and effective representation of the sector\u2019s interests before national and international authorities. HEEA prioritizes the overall growth of the industry, the maximization of its contribution to the national economy, and the strengthening of Greek exports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A particularly significant and proud moment for the Greek exhibition community took place during the UFI European Conference 2026, held in Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye, when UFI \u2013 The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry presented a special honorary award to Kyriakos Pozrikidis in recognition of his longstanding and substantial contribution to the development of both the … Read More “Greece Showcases the Economic Impact of Exhibitions to the Global Exhibition Industry and Honors HEEA Vice President Dr. Kyriakos Pozrikidis”<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":55486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1548,1323],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-en","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55468"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55470,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55468\/revisions\/55470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helexpo.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}