ATHENS – With Greece ending 2022 with a near-record recovery during the waning COVID-19 pandemic, The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and Marketing Greece will work together to promote destinations on social media.

“The GNTO and Marketing Greece are investing in their know-how, collaborating and implementing targeted promotional campaigns for Athens, Central Macedonia (Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, Olympus), Chania and Kavala–Thassos,” an announcement said, reported GTP Headlines.

The partnership includes a promotional campaign designed to run on social media – mainly TikTok and Instagram – in those target markets as Greek officials want to get people to visit places apart from the usual popular spots.

“We are joining forces with Marketing Greece and the private sector, which over the years has supported Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala and Chania through targeted actions, actively contributing to the joint promotion effort of our country abroad,” said GNTO Secretary General Dimitris Fragakis.

The campaign will include focus on the travel experiences and local culture offered by the Greek destinations, “building” on the principles and values of sustainable development, the report added.

Marketing Greece CEO Ioanna Dretta said that, “The long-term experience of the GNTO meets the multi-level effort of Marketing Greece, giving added value to the country.” A non-profit organization and private sector initiative, Marketing Greece. was founded in 2013 to promote tourism in Greece.

Greece’s tourism officials and private agencies are eager to get more people to places other than islands such as Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu and Crete, and to spend time in cities, including Athens and Thessaloniki.

There’s also been pushes for winter destinations and to keep people coming past the summer into the autumn and beyond with indications that 2023 could be yet another big year.