Just three years after the Olympics, Athens has established itself as a key city break destination and is now gearing up for the world’s leading travel and tourism show dedicated to the city break sector.

Reed Travel Exhibition’s, City Break 2007, will see Europe’s leading buyers and suppliers of city breaks descend on the former Olympic host city for an intensive three-day workshop.

According to IPK’s World Travel Monitor, city based tourism accounts for almost 40% of total European outbound trips. In light of this, Athens is making the most of its post Olympic tourism potential and is promoting the European capital as a year round city break destination. Hotels and airlines are teaming up to create enticing packages highlighting the capital’s iconic cultural offerings alongside more contemporary pursuits such as art festivals, casinos, fashionable restaurants, chic bars and glamorous shopping.

Key to Athens’ post-Olympic growth in the city break tourism sector is the overall increase of international passengers travelling to the historic city for leisure travel, which, since 2004, makes up 40-60% of foreign travel.

As reported by Athens International Airport (AIA), in 2006 alone, international leisure travel to Athens enjoyed an impressive 20% increase. In addition to the dense network of conventional carriers, AIA reports a 30% increase in low-cost carrier (LCCs) passenger traffic in 2006. Today, fifteen LCCs operate out of the award-winning airport serving 27 European destinations with recent additions including Aer Lingus, Air Baltic and KDavia.

Tour operators, hoteliers, tourist boards and Destination Management Companies (DMC) will all profit from Athens’ Olympic experiences and accomplishments when the Greek capital hosts Reed Travel Exhibtion’s, City Break 2007. Sponsored by the European City Marketing (ECM), City Break 2007, will be held from the 11th -13th June 2007 at the Faliro Sports Pavilion.

“Agency travel and tourism industry professionals are sure to appreciate the invigorating sun-drenched days, clear blue skies, spectacular seas and archaeological monuments – the ideal backdrop for the City Break 2007 exhibition,” says Athina Vorillas, Public Relations Director of the Athens Tourism & Economic Development Agency. “The Conference and Exhibition will provide journalists and travel professionals the opportunity to get an up close and personal look at the new Athens. The city’s convenient geographical location makes it an ideal hub for trade professionals from Europe, Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East to attend.”

Catherine Vaughan, Marketing Manager of City Break said: “This year we have a strong interest from suppliers in emerging cities in Croatia such as Rijeka, Zagreb and Split who will all be supporting the event again this year together with some of their main agencies and hotels. Similar interest is coming from Belgrade and Novi Sad in Serbia, Bratislava in Slovakia plus the Baltic States are showing steady growth including representation from Vilnius and Tallinn.”