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The Philoxenia-Hotelia-Polis triptych as the epicentre of Greek tourism and regional development
TIF-Helexpo is aiming at establishing the tourism exhibition duo of 'Philoxenia' and 'Hotelia' as the "heavy artillery" of Greek tourism in South-East Europe, while enhancing the above events with the regional dimension of the 'Polis' exhibition. The three exhibitions open on Thursday, 12 November, at Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre and will last until 15 November. They are expected to attract the interest of the domestic and international tourism industry.
The scale of this exhibition "triptych", presented by TIF-Helexpo during today's Press Conference, has been significantly bolstered this year. More specifically, the number of exhibitors participating in Philoxenia stands at 351, as compared to 232 during last year's exhibition (coming from Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Egypt, Albania, the Philippines, Azerbaijan, Armenia, FYROM, Indonesia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), while the exhibition area covered is 25% greater. The number of exhibitors participating in Hotelia stands at 157, as compared to 141 last year, while the number of exhibitors participating in Polis stands at 64, as compared to 36 during the 2013 event.
Philoxenia will welcome 107 foreign hosted buyers coming from 32 countries, who will attend over 3,000 pre-arranged B2B meetings.
The President of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Tassos Tzikas, spoke of essentially 'rebooting' Philoxenia: "We are presenting our credentials and hope to pass with flying colours for a renewed, dynamic Philoxenia", he stressed.
This year's 31st Philoxenia is making a quantum leap, according to the CEO of the national exhibition agency, Mr Kyriakos Pozrikidis, who predicted visitor numbers in the five figures.
The alternate Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, Mr Yiannis Yiorgos, noted that during these four days, Thessaloniki will be at the focus of tourism interest in the country and that the Region could not miss the event, given its strategic plan for tourism.
In turn, Mr Nikos Koufotolis, the director of the office of the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction (Macedonia-Thrace), Ms Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha, spoke about the Ministry's goal of strengthening its cooperation with the national exhibition agency on all levels.
Finally, according to the deputy general director of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Alexis Tsaxirlis, this year's "triple" event is raising the bar, with the expectation that next year will see the largest tourism exhibition in the history of the institution.
Philoxenia, Hotelia and Polis will be inaugurated on Thursday, 12 November at 19:30 by the Alternate Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Ms Elena Kountoura, and the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction (Macedonia-Thrace), Ms Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha.
Philoxenia and Ηotelia are being held under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, the Greek National Tourism Orgnisation (EOT), as well as all the major tourism agencies of the country, such as the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (XEE), the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA), the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (POX) and the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organisers (HAPCO). Polis is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction, the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece and the Union of Greek Regions.
Highlights of the exhibitions include the 'DPOINT Hotel Village', a "neighbourhood" dedicated to hotel design, decoration and renovation, the event titled 'The Art of Drinking Coffee & Spirits', focusing on the art of preparing coffee, cocktails and beverages, with the participation of acclaimed bartenders and mixologists from Greece and around the world, as well as the large, highly anticipated conference titled 'Destination Thessaloniki: 365 days of Meetings, Studies, Sports, Cruises and Health', to be held on 13 November within the framework of Philoxenia parallel events.
During the three exhibitions, parking will be free for exhibitors and visitors within the International Exhibition Centre (entering from the Commercial Entrance).
The official bank of TIF-Helexpo is the National Bank of Greece, the sponsor of Philoxenia is the Samaras & Associates company group, the supporter is Egnatia Odos SA and the associate is Ιnteriors from Greece.