The recent success of the World Junior Women’s Water Polo Championship in Larissa highlighted the potential of Larissa’s hospitality and catering businesses and the importance of hosting sports events in the city for tourism development.
The city hosted 13 high-level national teams from around the world, who left with the best impressions of the excellent hospitality, sports facilities, and enthusiastic fan participation in the games. As the Hotel Association of Larissa, we thank the Hellenic Swimming Federation, the Region of Thessaly, and the Municipality of Larissa, who greatly contributed to the successful organization of this significant event, once again placing our city high on the map for hosting major sports and cultural events.
In light of this event’s success, we would like to reiterate our goals for further tourism development in the area.
Larissa could attract inbound tourism in the following thematic areas:
- Sports Tourism Larissa has the infrastructure to host international sports events. It has proven this capability. What is needed to secure these events is an institutional body with ready-made bids tailored to the requirements of each event.
- Conference and Professional Tourism Larissa’s central location between Athens and Thessaloniki makes it ideal for scientific and professional conferences. We could leverage academic institutions, universities, and colleges that traditionally host conferences. Especially the presence of the Medical School could attract mid-sized international conferences (up to 500 people) that current facilities can support. The city’s size is ideal because it minimizes travel time between accommodation and conference venues.
- Cultural Tourism The city has the second-largest art gallery in the country and a student community that could generate culture in all its forms, provided there were institutional incentives like competitions, festivals, and exhibitions to foster creativity and attract international interest. Although many cultural events are already organized, timely information for tourism businesses is lacking. We propose the creation of a regional information point to gather and communicate event details to the tourism sector.
- Nature Tourism Larissa is at the heart of Thessaly, within a 60 km radius of Olympus, Kissavos, Meteora, Lake Plastiras, Tempi, and the coast. There is potential for “different” city break programs (Friday-Sunday). Specific activity programs are suggested, mainly on Saturdays, that can combine gastronomy, culture, and shopping, especially for PDO products.
- School Tourism Promoting the city as a gathering point for youth and a vibrant city, combined with its natural, historical, and cultural attractions, could make it a destination for school trips.
- Medical Tourism Larissa hosts Greece’s second TEMOS-certified clinic and the first rehabilitation center, placing it on the international medical tourism map. The historical presence of Hippocrates in Larissa could also be leveraged in various ways.
- Educational Tourism University faculties could create short-term educational modules on their specializations, either through distance learning with occasional weekend attendance or through two- to three-month daily programs.
- Religious Tourism In collaboration with ecclesiastical authorities, the city’s and surrounding area’s religious sites, notably St. Achilleios, the monasteries in Elassona, and Tempi, could be promoted as pilgrimage destinations.
Of course, categorization is not absolute; each visitor experiences a destination uniquely and chooses to create their own itinerary. Our duty is to provide a variety of reasons to visit our area and the infrastructure and opportunities to realize it.
However, the continuous operation of the Central Greece Airport in Anchialos and its connection to Athens Airport is crucial for implementing the above, allowing visitors to arrive without the need for long-distance road transport.
Sincerely,
Eirini Papaiouannou
President, Hotel Association of Larissa
