- Over 120 agents from Alltours got the Cretan treatment
- Each trip mixed hotel visits, culture, and supervised eating
- Danaos Travel organized, guided, and made sure nobody left empty-handed
- Voluntary exposure to local spirits was enthusiastically embraced
- Crete’s reputation as a “serious” destination just took a major leap
Imagine more than 120 German tourism professionals, most scribbling notes on clipboards and squinting at maps, roaming Cretan streets between April and June. Danaos Travel called the shots, packing these over-caffeinated Alltours agents into six whirlwind trips. Laughs were had. Raki was sampled. Possibly too much raki, but who’s counting?
By April, Crete was overrun with one batch. May wasn’t much better, with three separate squads touching down. Two more groups kept the Cretan bouzouki playing in June. These tours weren’t your garden-variety “visit a beach, get sunburned” sorties. Danaos Travel made sure the agents saw every angle: four Alltours hotels (yes, including the brand-new Club Hotel Mare Blue & Village in Ierapetra), landscapes, and, of course, the legendary Cretan feast. Someone probably Instagrammed a souvlaki.
Taking in All That Crete Has (Without Getting Sunstroke)
Each group, about 20 per platoon, rolled through the island with military precision. Eastern Crete got most of the love, from Kokkini Hani’s hotel strips to Ierapetra’s endless shoreline. Not wanting anyone to get comfortable, Danaos Travel tossed one group west to widen their horizons. These agents, it should be said, rule the German travel market. If they’re impressed, you’ll see more sunburned Teutons by next summer.
Of course, what’s a travel agent tour without a few cheesy gifts? Danaos Travel handed out Cretan goodies like raki (that’ll loosen up a sales pitch), local pasteli, a tourist map, and an info booklet that probably has more goats than practical advice. A licensed guide also tagged along, dishing up facts about the island’s history, modern hotels, and local quirks.
Main stops and highlights:
- Walkthroughs of Alltours hotels: Allsun Zorbas Village, Allsun Carolina Mare, Allsun Malia Beach, and Club Hotel Mare Blue & Village
- Guided tours covering cultural sites and hotel infrastructure
- Sampling local products, in both gift and liquid form
- Direct chats with hoteliers and tourism officials to get the real story about Crete’s appeal
All these moves had one goal: to help German agents pitch Crete as a top-tier holiday spot. As one spokesperson at Danaos Travel said, “Crete is not just another pretty island. It’s where holidays grow up, wear their best flip-flops, and eat better than they do at home.”
Or, as an Alltours manager bluntly put it, “When our people know a destination inside out, they can actually sell it. No guessing required.”
So next time you spot a group of German tourists snapping photos outside your grandma’s café, thank Alltours and the tireless crew who taught these travel pros how to spot a good place to park a suitcase. If you’re wondering why menus suddenly have more schnitzel, you know whom to blame.