Conference tourism, that is receiving visitors to a place not just for vacation but also for a conference, is one of the most rapidly developing tourist sectors in Greece and that’s because the country combines many of those elements that would attract international scientific or business conferences. Beyond a welcoming climate and good weather, the organizers will find state-of-the-art facilities, which in many cases are a product of private funding, and also fertile grounds for doing business as well as a thirst for knowledge for which the Greek audiences are known. Organizing conferences in a country where science and literature have flourished, that has been the cradle of civilization, that gave democracy and theater to the world, developed mathematics, medicine and set the foundations for the natural sciences, acquires a special character and historical importance. The situation was not always like that, however. In the past there was no proper infrastructure, no proper facilities, whether they belonged to the state, the universities or private ventures. From the beginning of the 2000s onwards, the initiatives for the development of conference tourism increased, not just in Athens, where it would be expected, but in the provinces as well, where there are now excellent hotels thoroughly equipped to host dozens or even hundreds of conference attendees, providing them with everything they need, both during the proceedings and their free time. Within this difficult financial situation, it’s initiatives like these that can drive Greece to become a pioneer of a sector like conference tourism. Fortunately, there are people in Greece to lead that effort. AKS Conference Centre Peloponnese
