{"id":7509,"date":"2022-10-25T11:58:37","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T09:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/anoixame-pania-gia-to-aegean-yachting-festival\/"},"modified":"2023-05-26T12:34:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T10:34:27","slug":"anoixame-pania-gia-to-aegean-yachting-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/anoixame-pania-gia-to-aegean-yachting-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"We set sail for the Aegean Yachting Festival!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/xeni-anastasia-toanoglou\/\">Xenia Toanoglou<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The gr<\/strong><strong>traveller<\/strong><strong>  traveled to the enchanting island of the knights, Rhodes, and was present at the<\/strong> <strong>3rd largest marine tourism festival in the Southeastern Aegean<\/strong>. Together with us, the island welcomed  <strong>40 luxury yachts and 30 exhibitors<\/strong>  who presented their services and products from Friday 21 October until Sunday 23 October. This year, the <strong>exhibition was held in the facilities of the new marina of Rhodes, giving the event a touch of luxury and comfort <\/strong>.  <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0392\u03a1\u0395\u0398\u0397\u039a\u0391\u039c\u0395 \u03a3\u03a4\u039f 3\u03bf AEGEAN YACHTING FESTIVAL!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fyya8-UBl5A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We started with a spectacular opening of the event on Friday evening, with spectacular scenery, fireworks, music and many political personalities. The hostess of the evening was Mrs <strong>Natasha Ragiou<\/strong>, who invited many of the dignitaries who attended the event to say a few words about this year&#8217;s event.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Secretary General of Shipping, Mr Evangelos Kyriazopoulos<\/strong>, during his speech, noted that &#8220;<strong>we see the development of marine tourism every day<\/strong>&#8220;, citing as a typical example the strategic move to keep the port open on the island of Rhodes during the two years of the pandemic for cruise ships. Since this is another part of marine tourism, with equally developed activity on the island of Rhodes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5653 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cutting-the-ribbon-2-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"632\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cutting-the-ribbon-2-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cutting-the-ribbon-2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cutting-the-ribbon-2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cutting-the-ribbon-2-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Among the excellent presentations was that of Mr. <strong>Yannis Pappou<\/strong>, <strong>President of the Dodecanese Chamber of Commerce<\/strong>. Mr. Pappou briefly outlined the benefits of marine tourism on the island of Rhodes, stating that &#8220;<strong>yachting<\/strong><strong>  makes a qualitative contribution to tourism. So far it has been recorded that the average expenditure of a visitor is five times more than what a hotel guest spends<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5658 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pappou-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"632\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pappou-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pappou-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pappou-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pappou-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The next day, we arrived early in the morning on the island in order to <strong>verify for ourselves the reputation that accompanies the island of the Olympian God Sun<\/strong>. It was one of the warmest and sunniest days of autumn, which did not seem to have made its appearance on the island yet. A number of boats decorated the marina with splendor without stealing the show from the deep blue waters of the sea. We had time, therefore, in the morning to browse along the exhibition and learn about the services provided, to taste local delicacies and to talk to companies that actively contribute to Greek shipping, such as  <strong>EKO<\/strong>, which was present with its own stand, proudly supporting the event. It is very important to acknowledge the <strong>prestige that EKO&#8217;s presence gives to the event, as it seals in this way its connection with marine tourism and <\/strong><strong>yachting<\/strong>. Through the constructive dialogue, <strong>the representative of<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>EKO <\/strong><strong>explained the corporate approach to marine tourism<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>and we agreed that <strong>by institutionalising and gradually upgrading the<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>Aegean Yachting Festival<\/strong><strong>, marine tourism can really gain more ground in this pie of economic revenue sharing of the island and the Dodecanese in general<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5663 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LEF09816-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LEF09816-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LEF09816-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LEF09816-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LEF09816-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5660 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SA76759-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SA76759-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SA76759-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SA76759-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SA76759-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On Saturday afternoon, Mr. <strong>Christoforos Harisis<\/strong>, <strong>director of Rhodes Marina<\/strong> welcomed us at the company&#8217;s stand and was happy to answer our questions in an effort to better understand the purpose of the festival.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5650 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Charisis1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"681\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Charisis1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Charisis1-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Charisis1-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Charisis1-2048x1331.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>This is the third <\/strong><strong>Aegean Yachting Festival <\/strong> <strong>which is held in Rhodes and we see that the venue of the event has changed since it is hosted by the New Marina of Rhodes. Do you think this change better represents the people this event is aimed at?<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The first two years the event was held in Mandraki, in the main port of Rhodes, and this year it was moved for the first time to the New Marina of Rhodes. The New Marina has been operating for several years, we are going for the seventh full season. I think the vast majority of visitors are satisfied with this year&#8217;s venue. Certainly the operation of the marina represents the yachting sector and more specifically some high standards of services offered in terms of safety of berthing and general services such as electricity, water and other needs. So I think it is in our identity to host this kind of festival.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Already experiencing the success of<\/strong><strong>  <\/strong><strong>third marine tourism festival, I would like you to tell us how you would imagine the 4<\/strong><strong>o<\/strong><strong>, the 5<\/strong><strong>o<\/strong><strong> and the future of this event in general, while setting the corresponding objectives for the future.<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>We believe in the establishment of this festival and we hope to orient it even more towards companies in this industry and not so much towards supporting companies. So I would like to see companies that charter boats, that produce boats, European shipyards, etc. There are endless businesses that can get involved in the festival. The infrastructure is in place and we are ready to work with the company that is organizing it and why not in the future with other companies that wish to undertake similar actions and promote marine tourism. Rhodes is a point in Europe that can attract tourists and businesses from many parts of the world, with the presence of an international airport that can offer flights and connections all year round. I believe that many large companies can establish a permanent presence in Rhodes. It is no coincidence that every year the presence of companies involved in chartering boats on our island is increasing, bringing more boats for exploitation and creating new jobs that help the economic life of the Aegean in general.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Our day was completed with a <strong>traditional music and dance event<\/strong> with the accompaniment of lyre and guitar by local artists and young dancers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5657 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/orchestra-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/orchestra-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/orchestra-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/orchestra-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/orchestra-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For one more day it seemed that the weather was on our side, since the summer weather allowed the younger attendees to take advantage of the tennis court and play with a view of the sea and the older ones to enjoy both the walk in the marina and to capture both the boats and the collection of antique cars in the parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday evening, <strong>the marina was filled with colored lights and song <\/strong>as a band and a dance group from the island enriched the atmosphere with international melodies and dance.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5649 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4065-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"651\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4065-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4065-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4065-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4065-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5651 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dance-event-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"643\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dance-event-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dance-event-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dance-event-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dance-event-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This event could not be completed without the report from the <strong>organizer of the <\/strong><strong>Aegean<\/strong> <strong>Yachting<\/strong> <strong>Festival<\/strong>, Mr. <strong>Anastasios Kostantaros<\/strong>, who told us a few words about the objectives of the festival.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5655 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Konstantaros--scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"673\" height=\"898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Konstantaros--scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Konstantaros--768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Konstantaros--1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Konstantaros--1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 673px) 100vw, 673px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations for this wonderful organization of the 3rd <\/strong><strong>Aegean Yachting Festival, <\/strong> <strong>every year the event is noticeably upgraded. I would like you to please tell us what is the goal of this event and do you feel that you have achieved it?<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Our goal is to educate the public of Rhodes and the entire Dodecanese, as to the importance of marine tourism. The tourism that we do in Greece is 90% marine tourism, since even coastal tourism is marine tourism. We have to see what prospects it gives us and where it will lead us in the future, because at some point the tourism product as it is structured now is starting to saturate. This saturation will be felt at some point. The island can no longer accommodate any more beds and vans, the airport infrastructure will not be able to support the volume of visitors and meet their needs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There are thousands of other disciplines working with each vessel. Anyone who has something to do and contribute in this field, from an upholstery designer to a local food service provider. Visitors who come through yachting also support the local economy through excursions to the destination, choosing restaurants, souvenir shops, super markets, parts stores, etc. Any business on the island can contact the marina and the yachting agencies to inquire about their services and express interest in cooperation. This festival therefore aims to raise awareness of all these positive elements that marine tourism has to offer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you plan to do other promotional activities such as this marine tourism festival in the future, perhaps in another region and time period?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Already this year the first Panhellenic yachting conference was held in cooperation with Trinity Events in Athens. Considering that this is 2022, it seems unlikely that this was the first national yachting conference. Marine tourism is unfortunately in its infancy. This has to do with the lack of rallying that existed until now, infrastructure but also with the competition between clubs. The conference was attended by 300 professionals. Next year on 17-18 February it will be repeated in Athens and will be held in a hybrid format. Also, during the winter we have made a collaboration with KEK Gennimatas presenting two courses, one exclusively for yachting and one for marine tourism. Finally, in cooperation with the Dodecanese Chamber of Commerce we did an action in Leros and we are gathering professionals and people interested in marine tourism to give them the basic guidelines for dealing with it. So we have with us today the Municipality of Leros, realizing the importance of presenting our destinations as boat destinations. So the role of the company and the organization of this event is quite advisory and informative.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We enjoyed this magical weekend on the island of Rhodes and we can&#8217;t wait to sail back to the capital with a different air!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5659 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-yachts-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"708\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-yachts-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-yachts-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-yachts-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-yachts-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Xenia Toanoglou &nbsp; The grtraveller traveled to the enchanting island of the knights, Rhodes, and was present at the 3rd largest marine tourism festival in the Southeastern Aegean. Together with us, the island welcomed 40 luxury yachts and 30 exhibitors who presented their services and products from Friday 21 October until Sunday 23 October&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thematikos-tourismos-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7509"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10386,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7509\/revisions\/10386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grtraveller.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}