This is Athens & Partners | The 7 partners renew their collaboration - the joint actions

With a shared vision of maintaining the attractiveness of Athens and strengthening its resilience, the Municipality of Athens and the Athens Development Corporation S.A. proceeded to update the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) and its operational arm Marketing Greece, Athens International Airport (AIA), the airline AEGEAN, Lamda Development, Ionian Hotel Enterprises and Lampsa Hellenic Hotels, renewing their strategic partnership “This is Athens & Partners” (TIAP).

The Memorandum, which was signed at a closed event at Zappeion by the heads of the nine partners of the Partnership, lays the foundations for renewed cooperation, through strategic directions for the next three years, taking into account the challenges of the new era. Recognizing the power of cooperation between the public and private sectors to further strengthen the city's already strong identity, TIAP's axes of action for the next three years will focus on:

• The sustainable development of Athens through the design of products and services for the international and domestic audience.
• The promotion and promotion of the city's identity, emphasizing the geographical and temporal dispersion of visitors, the promotion of actions and events that enhance its recognition as a city-break destination, as well as the promotion of actions that highlight sustainable practices in and around the urban fabric.
• In the management of the destination through the coordination of the bodies creates a unified experience for visitors and residents.
  The actions will be defined through a specific plan that will be implemented within the framework of the Memorandum and will include campaigns, recording key performance and effectiveness indicators (KPIs), and monitoring measurable results, with the aim of maximizing the visibility of the city.

The goals and mission of the Memorandum include strengthening the resilience of the destination against the new challenges arising from the climate crisis, as well as the emergence of Athens as a city that combines tourism development, sustainability, and quality of life.

The Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, emphasized: “Sustainable tourism development is a key axis of our vision for Athens. We are happy for the renewal of this important Partnership in which some of the most important tourism stakeholders participate. Through valuable partnerships like this, we are building a city that is outgoing, welcoming, and at the same time functional and resilient for all: residents, visitors, and investors.”

The CEO of Development Athens S.A., Ioannis Georgizas, noted: “The renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding and the 'revitalization' of this Partnership confirms the strategic role of the Development Organization as a connecting link between the Municipality of Athens and the private sector. Through the “This is Athens & Partners” Partnership, we are jointly shaping a dynamic action plan that combines tourism development, innovation, and sustainable practices, for the benefit of the city and its people.”

The President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (AHETE) and CEO of Athens International Airport, Yiannis Paraschis, stated: “Since the beginning of the partnership for Athens in 2016, we have set, together with our partners, in a pioneering collaboration between the Municipality of Athens and the private sector for the time, common goals to make our city a leading destination worldwide, with respect for the quality of life and the daily experience of its residents. After all, the vision for the future of tourism goes beyond the one-dimensional recording of arrivals and revenues. The development of a tourism strategy must now focus on the creation of a targeted tourism product and the management of destinations, with sustainable development and an impact on local communities in mind. "With the renewal and updating of the Memorandum of Cooperation, the success of this important synergy is confirmed in practice. Again, we are calling upon all stakeholders in Tourism and Travel to develop the next page for our city together with the same positive and creative spirit."

The President of the Board of Marketing Greece, Ioanna Dretta, added: “All of us who participate in 'This is Athens & Partners' are committed to acting with the aim of responsible development of Athens and ensuring the resilience of the city. The Athens Partnership is a model of cooperation that seeks to make Athens even more attractive, both for its visitors and for its residents. Satisfied visitors are the cities that have satisfied residents.”

The President of Aegean Airlines, Eftychis Vassilakis, stated: “AEGEAN is proud to participate in this strategic partnership from the first day of its establishment. The substantial cooperation, coordination, and convergence of all those who have supported it since 2016, in common goals, has already borne fruit, not only for the tourist development of the destination but also in managing the multiple challenges that we have been called upon to manage in previous years. Our ability to collaborate and our vision for the city form the basis for the next stage of development of “This is Athens & Partners”, which we are committed to implementing, again together, by renewing our participation in the Partnership.

Lamda Development CEO, Odysseas Athanasiou, underlined: “At LAMDA Development, for 20 years we have been creating pioneering projects that contribute to the well-being of society and ensure sustainable development. Having achieved remarkable success with our shopping centers and marinas, we are moving forward with a new ambitious project, The Ellinikon, the largest urban regeneration project in Europe. Our participation in “This is Athens and Partners” makes us particularly happy, as it gives us the opportunity to collaborate even more actively with the Municipality of Athens and prominent Greek tourism companies, in order to highlight Athens on the global investment and tourism map.

The CEO of Ionian Hotel Enterprises, George Hadjiiosif, pointed out: “Ionian Hotel Enterprises – the developer of The Ilisian – has long participated in the partnership for the promotion of Athens, contributing to the common vision for a city that evolves into a leading European destination throughout the year, always with sustainable development in mind. We believe in the power of cooperation and strategically support the tourism development of our city, with a long-term perspective”.

The “This is Athens & Partners” Partnership is a model of public and private cooperation in the field of tourism promotion at a national level. Since its establishment in 2016, the Partnership has made a decisive contribution to the upgrading of the city's tourism product and to the consolidation of Athens as a city-break destination with global appeal. It is indicative that from 2016 to the present, visits to Attica have shown a continuous increase: from 4.5 million visits in 2016 to 8.8 million in 2024, which translates into a 93.4% increase.

The Partnership over time

The cooperation between the Municipality of Athens and tourism stakeholders began with the establishment of the Athens Tourism Partnership (ATP) between the Municipality of Athens, AEGEAN and Athens International Airport (2016), and the institutional participation of SETE and the assumption of the role of coordinator by Marketing Greece, with the aim of promoting the city as a tourist destination all year round. In 2018, the first Memorandum of Understanding was signed, and Ionian Hotel Enterprises, Lamda Development, and Lampsa Hellenic Hotels were later added.

Today, the members of the Partnership renew their commitment, confirming their common intention to jointly shape the future of tourism in the capital, with strategic focus, social responsibility, and commitment to the principles of sustainability. Athens is moving forward, adapting to new tourism trends and building a future in which development goes hand in hand with sustainability and the quality of life of its residents and visitors.

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