The Region of Crete concluded the 2025 tourism promotion cycle in Vienna with a focused, highly productive professional presence, participating in the “Greek Tourism Workshop” held on December 15 in the Austrian capital.
The event was part of Crete’s broader international outreach strategy for 2025, aimed at maintaining strong ties with established markets while reinforcing the island’s profile as a year-round destination with depth beyond the summer season.
Direct dialogue with the Austrian travel market
During the workshop, representatives of the Region of Crete held a series of B2B meetings with Austrian travel agents and tour operators. These targeted discussions enabled direct exchange on market trends, traveller expectations, and opportunities to expand travel flows to the island.
Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism, Dr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou, presented Crete’s tourism identity, placing particular emphasis on:
- cultural tourism
- gastronomy
- sustainable travel experiences
- diversified thematic tourism
The approach focused not on volume alone, but on quality, seasonality balance, and meaningful visitor engagement.
Austria remains a strategic market for Crete.
Austria remains one of Crete’s most stable and valuable tourism markets. In 2025, the island recorded over 150,000 air arrivals from Austria, with a notable advantage:
Austrian visitors travel consistently outside peak season, particularly in March–April and October–November.
According to INSETE data, Austrian travellers also demonstrate:
- 19.1% higher average per-capita spending than the national average
- 11.9% longer average stay, reaching 7.2 overnight stays
Their travel motivations typically include leisure, cultural exploration, city breaks, touring, sports tourism, and experiential travel—an excellent match for Crete’s evolving tourism strategy.
Institutional presence and representation
The workshop was attended by representatives of Greek tourism diplomacy in Austria, including:
- Georgios Limberis, Second Secretary of the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Vienna
- Stavroula Skaltsi, Head of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) Office in Vienna
The Region of Crete was represented by:
- Dr. Kyriakos Kotsoglou, Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism
- Eleni Vougioukalaki, Deputy Head of the Tourism Department of the Heraklion Regional Unit
- Olga Milioni, Deputy Head of the Planning and Development Department
Closing one cycle, opening the next
Commenting on the event, Dr. Kotsoglou noted that Vienna marked the conclusion of an intensive promotional year, which included 38 international exhibitions, workshops, and events.
He also underlined that the same cities—Vienna among them—will play a role in welcoming 2026, alongside destinations such as Utrecht, Helsinki, Madrid, and Dublin, all forming part of a continuous chain of international promotion.
Each completed cycle, he said, represents another step forward in establishing Crete as a globally recognised destination, accessible everywhere and in every season.
