Opening Crete to the Indian and Asian tourism market

With the aim of penetrating the Indian and wider Asian market, the Region of Crete participated – in synergy with the management of the new Heraklion International Airport in Kastelli – in the international tourism exhibition OTM in Mumbai as a co-exhibitor with the Greek National Tourism Organization, and then in Connect in Girona, Spain.

OTM is the largest professional tourism exhibition in India, with more than 2,100 exhibitors and more than 40,000 professional visitors. With an eye on the future and in view of the operation of the new airport in 2027, the Region of Crete, together with the airport administration, held a series of business meetings with important travel organizers such as Thomas Cook India, SOTC, Veena World, etc., mass media and film industry figures, promoting Crete as an ideal holiday destination, but also as an ideal "set" for films and video clips of the Bollywood industry.

It should be noted that the production of video clips in Crete with famous artists of the Indian creative industry, with an appeal of hundreds of thousands of viewers, has already been planned for the coming months. Indians travel outside the high season, usually combining more than one destination, while they show interest in the culture, nature, and experiences that Crete offers.

The targeted synergy continued in Girona within the framework of Connect, where meetings took place with representatives of airlines and airports, with the aim of establishing new partnerships, direct connections to new long-distance destinations, and cooperation on a 12-month basis.

It is noted that 21.64% of the share capital of the construction company of the new airport is held by the Indian company GMR Airports Limited and that after its completion, Crete will be the only island with a runway wide enough to land large aircraft.

The Region of Crete was represented at the OTM by the Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism Dr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou, the Head of the Tourism Directorate Nikos Alexakis, the Head of the Tourism Department P.E. Heraklion Eleni Vougioukalaki, the Head of the Tourism Department of the Regional Government of Lassithi Maria Lavdaki, while at Connect Messrs. Kotsoglou, Alexakis and the Head of the Planning and Development Department of the Tourism Directorate Olga Milioni.

The Deputy Regional Governor of Tourism Dr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou (photo) stated in this regard:

“OTM, in Mumbai, is, as an exhibition, our first substantial attempt to penetrate the Indian and Asian markets. Something similar is happening at ATM in Dubai, but this time, the synergy with Kastelli Airport is an initiative that is now being done in combination with the main entry pillar of Crete. The journey continued with Connect, in Girona, Catalonia, where we, with the same synergy, saw airlines and airports for the same common goal. We are thus beginning a series of efforts - joint actions, which will be maximized in 2027 and our strategic targeting will aim to open the Indian and other Asian markets for Crete, Everywhere!

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