GREEKEND: Greece launches clever campaign targeting weekend tourism

Greece has launched a very clever and innovative tourism campaign which focuses on city-breaks under the motto "Greekend: end your week like a Greek", and is part of the "All you want is Greece" campaign of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) and the Greek Tourism Ministry.

Officially launched on Thursday, the campaign promotes all one can do in the country's two biggest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, over the course of a single weekend: visit museums, walk on a beach, have coffee outdoors, sample different foods, and do some shopping, among a plethora of other activities.

The new advertising campaign is initially scheduled to last nearly two months, and will be shown in ten countries that have shown particular tourism interest in Greece: France, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Israel. The campaign will be repeated at regular intervals throughout the year.

Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said that starting with Athens and Thessaloniki, the campaign "highlights culture, gastronomy, trade, entertainment, our hotels, and of course our absolute comparative advantages, the climate and the people. City hotels, especially in Athens and Thessaloniki, have been hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This campaign is the first in a series of actions that we will implement, in order to invite visitors to enjoy, safely, an authentic Greek weekend in the major cities of Greece."

The campaign's production is generously sponsored by the Onassis Foundation for the Ministry of Tourism.