In the presence of dozens of tour guides and partners, an event was held on Wednesday evening, November 16, at the offices of Athens Walking Tours in Athens.
The event was dedicated to the qualified tour guides who attained an extremely productive season in 2022, but also to the challenges that the Athens Walking Tours team successfully faced – due to greatly increased demand – in carrying out guided tours for foreign visitors of the museums, the archaeological sites and the most important attractions of the city.
Special awards to qualified tour guides with outstanding performances during 2022 were presented.
Speaking at the event, the president and CEO of the parent company of Athens Walking Tours, City Contact Yiannis Yiannakakis, gave a brief account of the year, which finally followed the most optimistic scenario of the company’s forecasts.
The co-founders of Athens Walking Tours, Mr. Yiannis Yiannakakis and Ms. Despina Savvidou
“The first months of the year started hesitantly”, he stressed, “but the season ended with a much-increased demand for our tours, even though the air arrivals of foreigners in Athens showed a decrease of 14.9% for the period January – October 2022 compared to the corresponding period of 2019. A decrease mainly triggered by the cancellations and delays that occurred in international flights, due to the major operational problems in the vast majority of airlines and major airports around the world.”
A snapshot from Mr. Giannakakis’ presentation
Mr. Yiannakakis added that “Athens Walking Tours fulfilled the goals they had set for 2022. Thanks to our experience as the first company to launch organized historical walking tours in Athens in 2004, as well as the first to pave the way for organized culinary experiences with the Athens Food Tour and Cooking Classes in 2010, we have created a very successful and efficient team with dozens of excellent qualified tour guides and experienced multi-member operation and service staff and rank among the first places, if not the first, in guided tours in Athens“.
“At the same time”, as the CEO of City Contact underlined, “our preparation and new partnerships have already begun for the next season of 2023, which, based on all indications and forecasts, is expected to move upwards.
Addressing the certified tour guides especially, Mr. Yiannakakis emphasized: “We, as Athens Walking Tours, work systematically, plan attractive tours, support them organizationally, and along with your excellent tour guide, we provide exceptional services to tens of thousands of visitors throughout the year.”
