Source: Tornos News
May 19, 2016
Greece and Russia will hold a Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conference tomorrow, May 20, in Athens.
The conference has been announced after the agreement made between Greek Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries, to increase mutual tourist flows and to develop and promote thematic tourism products.
It follows the recent Greek-Russian tourism forum organized earlier this month in Athens and is part of the ongoing Greece-Russia Cross-year events.
The event will be attended by ministers and heads of tourism and culture of the regions of the Russian Federation, head of Pilgrimage Centres, representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of Crete, the Dodecanese Church, the Holy Supervision of Mount Athos and the Patriarchate of Moscow as well as representatives from travel agencies with religious tourism programs and Association of Russian Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Executive Director Maya Lomidze.
Pilgrimage routes in Greece and Russia will be presented during the conference and bilateral discussions will be held aiming to enhance cooperation between the tourism sectors of the two countries.
The start of work will declare the If. Tourism Minister Elena kountouras, President of the Synodicon Pilgrimage Tours Office (religious tourism) of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Monsignor Bishop of Dodona Mr. Chrysostomos and by the Russian side, Ms. olgka Giariloba, the head of tourism and regional policy of the Ministry of culture of the Russian Federation. the Conference takes place at Grand Resort Lagonissi.
The conference will be opened by Minister Kountoura and the President of the Synod Office of Pilgrimage Tours of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece Bishop of Dodoni Chrisostomos on the Greek side and the director of the Department of Tourism and Regional Policy, Ministry of Culture of Russia, Olga Yarilova, on the Russian side.
