Travel Trade Events: ARGO II Black Sea Tourism Forum & Workshop

May 14, 2012

Posted By: Manolis Psarros

TAGS: ARGO II, Black Sea Region, destination promotion, peloponnese, tour operators, Tourism Forum, tourism industry, travel trade event, UNDP

The ARGO II Black Sea Tourism Forum & Workshop took place in Nafplio, Peloponnese, Greece on the 3rd and 4th of May, organized by UNDP Black Sea Trade and Investment Programme (BSTIP), the Region of Peloponnese & abouTourism destination consultants with the support of the City of Nafplio & the Argolida Chamber.

More than 80 local companies and organizations participated in the two day Forum while more than 20 Hosted Buyers from 9 different countries of the Black Sea Region were introduced to the unique Region of Peloponnese and its selective range of tourism suppliers.

Aiming to strengthen business ties amongst the countries of the Black Sea region and promote diverse tourist regions of the country, the event was an exclusive opportunity for Black Sea countries tour operators to network and do business with selected tourism providers from the entire region of Peloponnese in Greece, gaining first hand insights and knowledge into the most representative and innovative Peloponnese tourism products.

A rich field trip program amazed the hosted buyers, as they had the opportunity to experience the unique and diverse character of Peloponnese through wine tours in scenic locations, special tours to world heritage sites and unique attraction visits amongst others;

The Forum included a full workshop day with a series of B2B meetings between the Black Sea representatives and the suppliers from the Region of Peloponnese, pre scheduled through an online meeting platform providing a quality agenda;

and a Conference day with special sessions on tourism service excellence, destination management, digital tourism and product development offered by leading local and international experts.

Excellent presentations were offered by Barry Kolodkin (UNDP-BSTIP), Damian Cook & Zeina Rifai (E-Tourism Frontiers), Martin Schobert (Turismus Design), Stella Sampani (Up Greek Tourism), Chara Georgiadou (Trivago) and Manolis Psarros (abouTourism).

Extended networking opportunities were offered during coffee and lunch breaks, open appointment slots and special dinner receptions and many more exciting social activities, organized for the participants in order for them to experience first hand the cultural and historical tourism offering of the region while maximizing their corporate benefits.