PARIS – Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) Secretary General Dimitris Fragakis will join in Paris at France’s first major event for tourism professionals to keep Greece a magnet.

That will be at the IFTM Top Resa 2023 that will bring together all the top operators in the business from France and across Europe, Greece hoping for a big finish to 2023 and to keep people coming in 2024.

The event from Oct. 3-5 features destinations, group travel specialists, coach companies, travel agents and tour operators, said GTP Headlines, as Greece tries to keep ahead of competing countries.

https://news.gtp.gr/2023/10/02/iftm-tourism-expo-greece-has-a-full-agenda-of-meetings-in-paris/

After Greece took a hit with summer wildfires that saw tourists flee for their lives on Rhodes, and a record heat wave bringing worries travelers will look for cooler spots, Kefalogianni will meet operators, travel agents and airline representatives.

Her agenda includes talking to Jordan’s Culture Minister and the Deputy Tourism Minister of Cyprus, whose residents are a hop away from Greece, which is a favorite spot for them although their island is a competing draw.

During her visit to Top Resa 2023, the Greek tourism minister will meet with the “The minister’s presence at IFTM Top Resa, one of the largest tourism exhibitions worldwide, and her meetings with foreign officials and agencies, aims to strengthen tourism diplomacy, the outreach of Greek tourism and pass on the message to the world that Greece is a leading player and has established itself as a tourist destination of global appeal,” the ministry stated.

The GNTO will represent Greece at the IFTM Top Resa 2023 expo and Fragakis will meet officials from the Michelin Guide that rates restaurants and spots and whose imprimatur is eagerly sought.

Michelin Guide recently released its first edition of Michelin-starred restaurants in Athens, Fragakis expected to discuss chances of editions for two Greek islands and either a mainland destination or a Greek region.

France was one of Greece’s main tourist markets, after Germany and the United Kingdom, in the first seven months of 2023, the Bank of Greece earlier reported, travelers from France spending 782 million euros ($819.61 million) in that time.