Over 500 key players of the UK travel industry forged new relationships with the Peloponnese during the highly successful ABTA 2015 Travel Convention that took place at luxury resort Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese during October 12-14.

“I would like to thank and congratulate our hosts, the Region of the Peloponnese and the Greek National Tourism Organisation for the amazing hospitality they have shown us over the last few days, feedback from delegates has been incredibly positive“, ABTA’s CEO, Mark Tanzer, said in an announcement.

“We have all been extremely impressed by Costa Navarino, which is a sustainable resort of the very highest quality”, he added.

The flagship event for the UK travel trade, held annually by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), was attended by a total of 526 decision makers, influencers and opinion formers spanning the full breadth of the mainstream and specialist travel sector; from tour operators, hotels and airlines to all types of travel retailer.

The planning and organization of the convention in Greece this year was a coordinated effort between the Region of Peloponnese, the Tourism Ministry, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Aegean Airlines and TEMES (Costa Navarino) and aimed to increase the arrival of visitors travelling to Greece through British agencies. The UK is Greece’s second largest tourism market after Germany.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Athens is a visitor's paradise, with sights, sounds and tastes that leave everyone delighted. As it turns out, Athens is also a busy conference destination, with lots of companies and professional organizations choosing the city for international meetings.

 

I spent the last couple days driving around the 'Athenian Riviera', down the coast along the 'paraliaki', all the way to the southern tip at Cape Sounion. This was a work-related mission to inspect the seaside hotels of Athens, in view of holding a business conference here next year. I saw a number of properties, and was pleasantly surprised by some, and surprisingly disappointed by others.

 

Over 2 days I visited:

• Divani Apollon
• The Margi
• Astir Palace
• Westin Athens
• Grand Resort Lagonissi
• Grecotel Cape Sounion
  
  

In general, I'd say a few of these places need some updating - removal of decades-old carpets, a fresh coat of paint, some updated décor. But a couple of them are simply gems - for reasons you might not guess. For example, the Divani Apollon has one of the biggest and most impressive spas in Europe! Quite unexpected. If I'm being completely honest, I'd have to say that I expected 'more' - more 'wow' properties, more choice, more consistency in terms of quality throughout the entire property range. Nonetheless, there are a number of solid options for a business conference.

To be sure, these are not cheap places. Group rates for September start in the high-100's per night - and go up quite quickly to the 300€+ range. But for a business conference, these are more-or-less in line with other European capitals for business conference rates.

In the end we chose The Margi - it combines the gorgeous style and service of a boutique hotel, with the modern meeting room facilities we need, a kitchen run by a well-known (and skilled!) chef, and a brand-new extra-large luxe swimming pool. They also run The Margi Farm, an organic farm where they grow much of the food served in the restaurant. The Margi is not directly on a beach, but you can reach Astir Beach on foot within literally 3 minutes.

If you're looking for a gem of a hotel along the Riviera, The Margi is it. Just forget about mid-September 2017 - we reserved the whole place.

Until next week,

Jack

The Margi
11 Litous Street, Vouliagmeni
www.themargi.gr
www.margifarm.gr

Divani Apollon
Agiou Nikolaou 10, Vouliagmeni
www.divaniapollonhotel.com

This summer, the Municipality of Athens launched a new smartphone app called "myAthensPass" that will help connect drivers with available parking spaces in the center of Athens. With only 10,500 open parking spots, Athens is making use of everyday technology to make parking easy and reliable.

Smartphone users can download the “myAthensPass” application through the Google Playstore or Apple’s Appstore; charge their credit, debit or prepaid card with the desired sum starting from 50 cents and up to 20 euros; choose a parking space on the digital map, the parking duration and type in their licence plate number.

The "myAthensPass" app only covers Athens' controlled parking zones and has replaced the scratch card parking system. The app is part of Athens' ongoing effort to provide better digital services to residents and visitors.

Article source: Greek Travel Pages

Two Greek women are set to conquer Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, in an expedition scheduled to start on April5, 2019. The two mountain climbers will embark on a difficult expedition in order to reach Mount Everest’s highest peak at 8,848 metres above sea level, and plant a Greek flag on the ‘Roof of the World’.

 

Mother-of-two Vanessa Archontidou and her team mate Christina Flambouri aim to complete the Seven Summits challenge, which means climbing the highest mountains of all seven continents of the world. So far, the couple of climbers have managed to reach the peak of Aconcagua in Argentina, Elbrus in Europe, Mount Denali in North America, the Carstensz Pyramid the highest mountain in Oceania, and Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro in Africa.

 

Starting from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, the two women will head to the Everest basecamp at 5,500 metres, where they will remain for at least a month to allow their bodies to adjust to the high altitude. Their expedition to climb up the mountain will start in mid-May.

 

Talking about what motivates them to take on the highest mountains, the two women replied: “We climb mountains because this is what makes us happy and inspires us and gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning with excitement. Each person must search and find this reason for themselves because only then can they feel complete,” they said.

 

To read this article in full, please visit: Keep Talking Greece

School’s been closed for some time now and most children are bored and don’t know what to do with their free time. Lots of kids will spend hours in front of a screen unless there are other kids around that they can play outdoors with. Younger kids will most probably keep on wanting their mom’s attention and involvement. For sure you’ll hear the word “mom, mommy” much more now than while they were at school. Meanwhile while you, mom, are running around trying to take care of everything and everyone, you are also trying to find ways to keep your child busy. Maybe now is a good time to sort out their clothes and toys.

There are toys your child no longer plays with, let alone those they’ve never attracted their interest, and clothes they’ve outgrown or haven’t even tried once. Find a day that’s convenient for you and your child and play “The mountain with the three rivers” game together. Start with their toys. Put everything in the middle of the room and form a mountain. Young children especially enjoy this one a lot. Choose a name for your own mountain – names can vary depending on your child’s age.

Then form three rivers: one with the toys your child absolutely loves and wants to keep, one with the ones they want to give away, and another with the ones they are not sure about yet. Don’t forget to name the rivers too. Now let the fun begin! Which river will be bigger / smaller? Which river will have more / fewer turns? Which river will be calm / rough? Remember to define together the criteria in advance.

Keep in mind that this game can take hours because your child might want to play with some toys or tell a story about some others. So relax and enjoy it. After all, it is a super opportunity for bonding! When you are done not only will you be more relaxed but your child’s room will also be lighter. And your child will feel that their opinion and decisions do count!

Have a discussion about where to give or donate the items your kid has chosen – to a cousin, to a friend’s child? Can you think of an institution or organization where you will go with your child so as to showcase another way of life? The choices are endless!

PS. You can play the same game for clothes, books, anything you like. And do not forget to do the same with your own clothes, “toys”, etc.

More than 3,000 participations and world-class athletes in this year’s top world sports tourism event

Europe’s top sports tourism and wellness event, Navarino Challenge, celebrated its 10th anniversary on October 21-23, 2022, presenting a schedule of more than 40 activities, 16 Olympic sports and 15 Olympians at Costa Navarino and Pylos.

With the central message, “Sports Unites People” and embracing the purpose of the Olympic Movement, this year’s Navarino Challenge had more than 3,000 participations, with people of all ages, from 1 month old to 90 years old as well as people of all abilities, with more than 20 athletes with disabilities, who participated in the activities, in a full schedule that hosted the participants at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort and W Costa Navarino.

 

Navarino Challenge became a part of the amateur and professional athletes who participated, as they all shared the same values, in the presence of Olympians, having the magnificent Messinian landscape and the Navarino bay as their background scenery. The unique sports tourism celebration gathered athletes, families and children from 23 countries such as: U.S.A., Argentina, South Korea, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Finland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Austria and Turkey, with sports as their common denominator.

 

Meeting with top Ambassadors & Instructors

Navarino Challenge is probably the only event apart from the Olympic Games, in which important sports personalities and Olympians such as the athletes of the event’s Grand Sponsor, Stoiximan, Lefteris Petrounias, Miltos Tentoglou, Stefanos Ntouskos, Vasiliki Millousi, Thodoris Vlachos, Dimitris Diamantidis, Georgios Printezis, Christos Volikakis, Maria Prevolaraki, Kristian Gkolomeev, can meet and do sports together, while giving the participants the opportunity to meet Nasos Ghavelas, Grigoris Polychronidis, Makis Kalaras, Periklis Iakovakis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Evina Maltsi, Joe Arlauckas, Konstantine Dean Karnazes, Michalis Triantafyllidis, Georgia Kaltsi, George Lazaridis, Grigoris Souvatzoglou and to train with Nikos Gemelos, Christos Gatsis, Dimitris Moros, Alexandros Nikolaidis, Christina Flampouri and Mandy Persaki.

 

A night dedicated to the 10 years of Navarino Challenge

On Saturday night the awards ceremony for the event’s 10-years anniversary took place, filled with memories, emotions & sports stars. The ceremony was presented by the actress and TV presenter Nadia Kodogeorgi. The event said goodbye to a friend but mainly a human, a top athlete but also a role model, the two-time silver Olympic medalist in Tae Kwon Do, Alexandros Nikolaidis, with a special and emotional message from his wife Dora Tsambazi, who united all the people with a huge hug. The ceremony was greeted by the Hall of Famer, Olympian & European Basketball Champion, Panagiotis Giannakis, as well as the Greek-American ultramarathon Konstantine Dean Karnazes. 

The following athletes were awarded: 

• Lefteris Petrounias, Miltos Tentoglou, Stefanos Ntouskos, Vasiliki Millousi, Thodoris Vlachos, Dimitris Diamantidis, Georgios Printezis, Christos Volikakis, Maria Prevolaraki, Kristian Gkolomeev, were awarded by the Founder & CEO of Kaizen Gaming Mr. George Daskalakis
• Konstantine Dean Karnazes with his parents Fran & Nick were awarded by the co-founders of Navarino Challenge, the former Executive Director of The Hellenic Initiative, Mr. Peter Poulos and the CEO of ActiveMedia Group, Mr. Akis Tsolis
• Nasos Ghavelas was awarded by the President & CEO of Samsung Electronics Hellas, Mr. Theofilos Shin Byungmoo, for the gold Olympic medal that came to Pylos, 109 years after Tsiklitiras
• Lefteris Petrounias and Vasiliki Millousi were awarded by the Marketing Manager of Europa, Ms. Maria Michalopoulou for promoting sports as a family role-model
• Thodoris Vlachos was awarded by the Key Account Manager of Vikos SA, Mr. Michael Evdemon with the ethics award, representing the Greek national water polo team
• The international football player of Liverpool FC, Kostas Tsimikas and the CEO of Prosport, Mr. Paschalis Tountouris, who represented the athlete were awarded by the Managing Director of Miele Hellas, Mr. Thanos Kyriazis
• Grigoris Souvatzoglou was awarded by the Country Manager of The North Face, Elias Kanakis
• The ambassadors Grigoris Polychronidis, Periklis Iakovakis, Evina Maltsi, Michalis Triantafyllidis, Nikos Gemelos, Joe Arlauckas, Christina Flampouri, Georgia Kaltsi were awarded by the Market Access & Public Affairs Director of Novo Nordisk, Ms. Mary Karageorgou 
• The instructors Mandy Persaki, Christos Gatsis, Dimitris Moros and Alexandros Nikolaidis were awarded by the owner of Sportadore & exclusive distributor of Luanvi in Greece, Mr. Manos Sifakis 
• the Pylos-Nestor Mayor, Mr. Panagiotis Karvelas who represented the Municipality of Pylos-Nestor, the President of Pylos Association of Enterprises for Tourism Development and Poseidonia Restaurant owner in Pylos, Mr. Vasilis Vrettakos and the owner of the Karalis Beach Hotel and the Karalis City Hotel, Mr. Dionysis Karalis were awarded by the Facilities Management Director of Costa Navarino, Mr. Giorgos Panageas. 

Amateur and professional runners, clubs, as well as athletes with disabilities from the sports club DiaforoZO took part in the running routes of this year’s Navarino Challenge. The participants ran in the Half Marathon powered by Miele, in the 10km powered by Stoiximan and in the 5km powered by Samsung even with their pets, while hundreds of children ran in the 1km powered by Vikos.

Unique gifts, the richest ever, were given to all participants. In particular, Samsung Electronics Hellas offered the unique Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro wireless headphones to the 5km finishers, Miele offered a t-shirt finisher, while all participants received the event’s official t-shirt designed by Luanvi, Official Sports Supplier of Navarino Challenge, which featured the design of a Griffin. At the same time, 10 lucky winners won the unique Miele Triflex Cat & Dog vacuum cleaner.

Vikos natural mineral water was once again next to all the athletes taking care of their hydration, while the Half Marathon runners empowered their strength with the ReCharge Gel energy gels and the MoiMüv Protein Flapjacks of GymBeam. Target Security took care of the participants’ safety, while Fysiotek undertook the rehabilitation and recovery of the athletes at their finish.

All running races were co-organized with Messiniakos Gymnastic Club and EAS SEGAS Peloponnese Region.

You may see the results of all running routes here: https://bit.ly/3DuOBCs 

 

Throughout the event, the registration area was transformed into a unique exhibition space where attendees had the opportunity to experience the possibilities of the fourth generation Galaxy Z Flip4 and Fold 4 foldable smartphones, which push the boundaries of technology, as well as Samsung’s largest tablet to date, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. In addition, all participants got to know the top wearables of Samsung Electronics Hellas, Official Technology Sponsor of the Navarino Challenge, the brand-new Galaxy Watch5 smartwatches and the Buds2 Pro wireless headphones, for immersive sound on the go. At the same time, the participants admired the unique high-quality household appliances of Miele Hellas, the event’s Official Sponsor, Luanvi’s unique collection of clothing and sports equipment, while they got to know the new “Orophographia” series of Kois Optics, which combines excellent quality and high aesthetics.

 

Moreover, Europa, one of the most powerful extrusion companies, supported the event as Official Sponsor, highlighting sports and Olympic spirit as well as the participation of athletes of all abilities and ages by bringing to the forefront the noble virtues and sports values, that Europa supports ​​for years through its extensive social responsibility program, Europa Cares.

 

More than 40 sports activities

This year’s Navarino Challenge schedule was the richest ever in its 10-year history. The following activities were presented: 

• tennis demonstration powered by Miele with the participation of George Lazaridis
• basketball demonstration with wheelchair athletes powered by Samsung with the participation of the wheelchair basketball team of Maroussi, Georgia Kaltsi and Makis Kalaras
• 4on4 basketball tournament powered by Trace ‘n Chase with the participation of Joe Arlauckas and Evina Maltsi. A tournament dedicated to the memory of the two-time silver Olympic medalist of tae kwon do Alexandros Nikolaidis, with all participants wearing the jerseys of Aris basketball team with his name and the number 6.
• tennis induction powered by Miele  
• bike ride to Voidokilia powered by Stoiximan with Christos Volikakis 
• high intensity training
• kick boxing lessons powered by Samsung
• baby swimming lessons
• boxing lessons
• rowing lessons powered by Stoiximan with Stefanos Ntouskos
• spinning challenge powered by Vikos
• pilates lessons powered by Samsung
• yoga powered by Messinian Spa
• men’s & women’s round robbin tournament with UTS format powered by Miele
• sea kayaking to Sphacteria island
• basketball lessons powered by Iroes with Dimitris Diamantidis, Georgios Printezis, Joe Arlauckas, Evina Maltsi
• half day kids camp
• padel tournament powered by Stoiximan
• beachathlon powered by Europa
• F45 Barrio Salamanca Heavy Cardio Workout 
• Tsimikas Football Clinics powered by Prosport
• climbing lessons powered by The North Face
• King of the Court Beach Volley Tournament men, women and mixed powered by Europa
• CrossFit
• long jump powered by Stoiximan with Miltos Tentoglou
• golf lessons powered by Bombay Sapphire
• gymnastics powered by Stoiximan with Lefteris Petrounias
• gymnastics powered by Iroes with Vasiliki Millousi
• wrestling lessons powered by Stoiximan with Maria Prevolaraki
• “Feed the Fish” golf exhibition game powered by Samsung
• Swimming lessons powered by Stoiximan with Kristian Gkolomeev
• Half Marathon run powered by Miele 
• 10km run powered by Stoiximan 
• 5km run powered by Samsung 
• 1km run for children powered by Vikos

During this year’s event, the global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, as the event’s Strategic Healthcare Sponsor, organized a seminar to inform and raise awareness among the audience about the chronic issue of obesity and its recognition/emergence as a disease. Key speakers of the seminar were the Greek-American ultramarathon Konstantine Dean Karnazes, the EuroLeague Legend and European Champion with Real Madrid Joe Arlauckas and the ultramarathon from Messinia Vasilis Koumanakos, while the Market Access & Public Affairs Director of Novo Nordisk Ms. Mary Karageorgou greeted the audience and referred to Novo Nordisk’s campaign #PameNaXasoume.

 

Athletes and ambassadors of the event moved with the safety of Sixt cars of MOTODYNAMICS group, the event’s Premium Mobility Partner.

 

At the same time, the participants in the tennis and padel tournaments received rich gifts from Dunlop.

 

Stoiximan was the event's Grand Sponsor.

Samsung Electronics Hellas supported the event for another year as its Official Technology Sponsor. 

Europa and Miele were the event’s Official Sponsors.

Novo Nordisk was the Strategic Healthcare Sponsor.

Vikos Natural Mineral Water was the Official Water. 

Luanvi was the Official Sports Supplier.

Sixt of the MOTODYNAMICS group was the Premium Mobility Partner.

Costa Navarino and The Westin Resort Costa Navarino were the Official Hospitality Sponsors.

Poseidonia Restaurant, Karalis Beach Hotel and Bombay Sapphire were Navarino Challenge’s Official Supporters.

Trace ‘n Chase was the Sports Memorabilia Partner.

Kois Optics were the event’s Official Optics Partner.

Messinian Spa was the Official Beauty Partner.

The North Face was the Outdoor Partner.

Athens Medical Group was the Medical Partner. 

Pilia Express, the transportation company based in Pylos, Pylos-Nestor Municipality, Phee, Target Security, GymBeam, Dunlop and Fysiotek were the event’s Partners.

pi3 was the Sustainability Partner.

SKAI was the Premium TV Partner. 

Deree - The American College of Greece was the Educational Partner.

Concept2, Explore Messinia, FitnessArt, F45 Barrio Salamanca, Mouratoglou Tennis Center – Costa Navarino, Navarino Golf Academy, Navarino Outdoors, Pilates by Mandy, Red Swim Academy, Swim O’ Clock, Triantafyllidis Beach Arena, Vizantinos target sport club were Navarino Challenge’s Athletic Partners.

The event was assisted by Vita N Travel, Alpha Estate, Kayak, Karalis City Hotel & Spa, Pylos Association of Enterprises for Tourism Development, Rania’s Flower.  

Discount Partners were Anazoe Spa, Kessaris, Mouratoglou Tennis Center – Costa Navarino, Nargile, Panellinios Agora Games.

A Sustainable Event

The event ensured the implementation of sustainability principles, contributing with its actions to the protection of the environment.

In particular, PHEE is the first company in the world to use as its main raw material the dead leaves of the Posidonia Oceanica plant, and Navarino Challenge is the first event in the world to give participants a medal made of seagrass, as were also the plaques given to the honorary awards. A Greek product, from a company based in the Peloponnese that innovates by promoting the principles of “green” entrepreneurship and the reuse of natural resources. At the same time, participants were given bags from recycled plastic, registrations were made with Samsung tablets replacing the use of paper, and with the assistance of the π³= Plastic Pollution Prevention powered by Miele team, they took care of the event’s zero footprint, also undertaking the cleaning of the running routes. The event’s vision is the maximum possible contribution to sustainable development in harmony with nature.

 

The true meaning of volunteering

The volunteers of Deree - The American College of Greece offered a significant support by encouraging all runners. Athens Medical Group supported the running activities as a Medical Partner, while the contribution of the Hellenic Rescue Team - Messinia Prefecture, which helped in the Navarino Challenge running races, was also of key importance. 

 

Research on Greek sports tourism

For another year, the event conducted research on the financial impact of sports tourism in collaboration with Deree - The American College of Greece, the findings of which will be presented in the coming months. 

 

Sharing Is Caring

Navarino Challenge, like every year, will once again contribute to society with the action of Sharing Is Caring. The items of the online sports auctions will be offered via Silent Auctions and the total revenue will benefit the following 10 non-profitable organizations - CSR Partners: A Little Shelter, Diaforozo, Dogs’ Voice, Fylakas Angelos, HOPEgenesis, Karkinaki, Mikros Prigkipas, the Social Kitchen “The Other Person”, π³= Plastic Pollution Prevention, “Shedia” street paper – “Diogenes Non Profitable Organization”.

 

Navarino Challenge took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization.

The event joined the Greek actions of the #BeactiveHellas 2022 program of the European Commission which is held under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Sports. 

The event was organized by ActiveMedia Group which was also responsible for the event’s Sports Production.

 

The hashtag #navarinochallenge was the number one trend of the weekend with people uploading unique moments from the event on social media.

 

#navarinochallenge #costanavarino #sportsunitespeople #10yearsNavarinoChallenge #eatwell #runwell #livewell

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