Greece: new perspectives for your business
Distinctive products. Stronger partnerships. Opportunities across the seasons.
Greece is an established destination in European travel portfolios. Its breadth offers scope to develop those portfolios further: cultural journeys shaped by local life, countryside programmes, premium wellness stays, regional food and wine routes, and business events with a distinctive setting.
Through its partnership with the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), ECTAA is highlighting how these experiences can translate into practical opportunities for European travel agents and tour operators.
Explore seven areas for product development—and discover how Greek expertise and local partnerships can help turn an idea into a well-designed programme.
Cultural tourism
Give familiar destinations a different story
Greece’s cultural offer connects archaeological sites and museums with historic towns, local festivals and living traditions. It provides opportunities to develop journeys with a clear theme, rather than simply add more sightseeing stops.
Combine Delphi with the villages and landscapes of Mount Parnassus, or build a programme around fortifications, contemporary cultural experiences and locally guided encounters. These combinations offer starting points for specialist departures, small-group circuits and tailor-made extensions—particularly for clients who already know Greece.
For the trade, the value lies in selecting the experiences and connecting them into a compelling itinerary.
Sustainability and eco-tourism
GNTO’s eco-conscious travel guide highlights local businesses, seasonal food, public transport and accommodation that prioritises sustainability. It also introduces island initiatives involving renewable energy and electric mobility, including projects on Tilos, Astypalaia and Halki.
For travel professionals, these provide starting points for more considered product design: longer stays in one base, locally delivered experiences and transport choices suited to the destination.
The opportunity is to make the proposition specific. Explain which practices a supplier follows and what clients can expect, using verified information rather than broad environmental claims.
Outdoor tourism and activities
Build the journey around the landscape
Walking in Epirus, cycling around Parnassus or exploring Ainos National Park on Kefalonia: Greece’s landscapes offer foundations for activity-led holidays and extensions to established programmes. GNTO’s countryside guide brings together national parks, mountain villages and island experiences.
Combine guided activities with suitable accommodation, regional food and time to discover local life. The result could be a specialist departure, an active family itinerary or a nature-focused addition to a wider journey.
Local expertise is essential to match routes, activity levels and travel dates to the clients—and to respect the conditions of protected areas.
Luxury tourism and premium accommodation
Premium travel is about how accommodation, service and experiences work together. Greece’s luxury offer encompasses high-end hotels, private villas, gastronomy and wellness, across both island and mainland destinations.
GNTO’s brief also points to boutique and heritage accommodation in places such as Andros and Nafplio, alongside wellness experiences such as Pozar Thermal Baths.
For specialist operators and travel advisors, the opportunity is to connect carefully chosen stays with private guiding, regional cuisine and an unhurried pace. A distinctive proposal reflects the client’s interests—not simply a higher room category.
City breaks
Create a short stay with a clear identity
Alongside Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s urban portfolio includes Kavala, Volos, Kalamata and Heraklion. GNTO highlights the connections between city heritage, cultural life and nearby countryside.
Kavala can be linked with ancient Philippi and Mount Pangaion; Heraklion offers an itinerary shaped by its Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. These are ingredients for cultural weekends, food-focused breaks and city-and-region combinations.
Outside peak summer, develop the programme around the season’s strengths, with transport, opening periods and local services confirmed for the selected dates.
Gastronomy and wine tourism
Turn regional flavour into the reason to travel
Greek gastronomy offers a way to connect landscapes, producers and local traditions. GNTO’s food and wine material spans regional cuisine, traditional products and vineyard experiences, including wine routes through Naousa, Amyntaio and Drama.
For the trade, the opportunity is to bring these elements into a coherent journey: hosted tastings, producer visits, local markets and meals that explain the region.
Develop a specialist small-group departure, a private culinary itinerary or a countryside extension to a city stay. Seasonal ingredients can give different departures their own character, while local hosts give the programme its personal dimension.
MICE and business events
Start with the brief. Build the destination experience around it.
For business-travel agencies, incentive specialists and event organisers, the opportunity is an integrated proposal: an appropriate venue, coordinated logistics, clear inclusions and a destination programme that supports the event’s purpose.
Explore dates beyond peak summer against the client’s requirements, flight connections and local operating capacity. Where sustainability forms part of the brief, request supplier evidence relevant to the client’s procurement criteria.
Disclaimer
Developed by ECTAA in partnership with the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO). Selected destination information and promotional materials are used with GNTO’s permission for the purposes of this partnership. Photographs and audiovisual materials remain subject to their respective copyright and credit requirements. See individual asset credits.