Representatives of the local political life and from the industry’s institutions were present at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Xenia.
With a warm applause and in a festive atmosphere, Xenia’s inaugural ribbon was cut on Saturday, November 23, at 11:10 am, at the presence of a large crowd of people, while it was attend-ed by high-profile officials.
The ribbon of the exhibition, which takes place in the ultra-modern Metropolitan Expo from 23 to 25 November, was cut by the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Haris Theocharis, who mentioned that: “Xenia trade show has been a very important institution for the tourism industry of our country for many years, which in turn is a key pillar of the national economy. And the tourism industry has proven this great value and contribution during Greece’s last difficult decade”. He then referred to the 10-year plan focusing, among other things, on attracting high-income visitors and extending the tourist season, and concluded: ” I am sure that this year’s trade show will also be a great success and I hope to continue playing a significant role in our country’s tourism industry ”.
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From left: Thanasis Panagoulias (Commercial Director FORUM SA), Thanasis Gialouris (Vice President FORUM SA), Nikos Choudalakis (CEO FORUM SA), Haris Theocharis (Minister of Tourism), Peter Ottmann (CEO NürnbergMesse Group)
The heavy historical signature of Xenia
“The most powerful sector of the Greek economy has not only been able to emerge from the economic turmoil of the last decade, but has at the same time succeeded in reinforcing its global prestige in a highly competitive market. At this very juncture, Xenia 2019, with its heavy historical signature, is coming to condense and at the same time to magnify the enormous energy of progress being made by our country’s hotel industry”. With these words, Mr. Nikos Choudalakis, President and CEO of FORUM SA, during the opening ceremony, expressed his optimism and confidence that Xenia will play a key role in strengthening our nation’s economy and this year as well. “The demands of the tourist season are high, expectations are high, standards are high as well as the sense of responsibility we face … The success of Xenia trade show is an invaluable reward for our vision of actually supporting a valuable goal: Greek Hospitality to play a leading role on the world map of the tourism market, just as it deserves” concluded Mr. Choudalakis.
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From left: Alexandros Vasilikos (President of HCH), Angela Gkerekou (President of the Greek National Tourism Organization), Nikos Choudalakis (CEO FORUM SA), Peter Ottmann (CEO NürnbergMesse Group), Thanasis Gialouris (Vice President FORUM SA).
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From left: Yiannis Retsos (President SETE), Angela Gkerekou (President of the Greek National Tourism Organization), Nikos Choudalakis (CEO FORUM SA), Peter Ottmann (CEO NürnbergMesse Group).
The representatives of all institutional bodies were present
Present at the opening ceremony were also President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Mr. Alexandros Vasilikos, Mr. Yiannis Retsos – President of the Hellenic Tourism Business Association (SETE), Mr. Gregory Tassios – President of the Hellenic Hotel Federation, Ms Angela Gerekou – President of Greek Tourism Association and Mr. Christina Tetradi, Vice-president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels. Finally, Mr.Peter Ottman, CEO of NürnbergMesse Group, of which FORUM SA (the Xenia Organizing company) is now a part.
At the end of the opening ceremony, the representatives of all institutional bodies, headed to C1 conference room in order to attend the 3rd International Hospitality Forum, organized by Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.
