Mediterranean Historical Towns Network founding meeting and 2nd Corfu Tourism Conference to work together!

In order to optimise results, the San Giacomo Society and organizers of the 2nd Corfu Tourism Conference agreed to work together. This came about since both parties are planning their events for 19-21 October and the coincidence was turned into a collaborative opportunity. They met at the Old Town Hall on Monday afternoon with the Deputy Mayor for Tourism Vassilis Kavadias also present and decided to work together on events where possible and also share venues.

The San Giacomo Society is a founding member of the network of citizens' organizations active in historical Mediterranean towns which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The network's previous meeting was in Venice. The forthcoming meeting will take place in Corfu in order to consolidate the network and approve its constitution. The network includes representatives of organizations from Corfu, Venice, Dubrovnik, Paphos, Rhodes and Santorini whilst Heraklion and Malta are also expected to join. One of the sessions at the meeting will focus on sustainable tourism in historic towns, which integrates well with the Corfu Tourism Conference, whose agenda includes discussion of the capacity of the local tourist economy amongst other items.

Mr. Kavadias expressed his satisfaction at the meeting and the initiatives being taken, saying that the local authority would be happy to support and take part in the activities. The Head of the History Department at the Ionian University Thanassis Efstathiou, who is one of the academics who have supported the Corfu tourism αειForum since its foundation, expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration. Alexandros Kotronas was also present as representative of the Marco Polo System. The two organizations appointed representatives to work together on collaborative events.

It was announced at the meeting that the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) has expressed an interest in the Corfu Tourism Conference and the board and a large number of members plan to visit Corfu on the conference dates and to attend the event whilst also organizing fam trips.