The conference “Museums and tourism: a working relationship” will be held at the Benaki Museum.
Museums, cultural organizations and heritage sites have traditionally been among the most popular visitor attractions for both domestic and international tourists, especially in countries like Greece where tourism has extensive economic, social and political influence. However, only recently cultural stakeholders have started to assess their power in attracting tourist audiences and their impact in the tourism industry, a powerful development tool.
As cultural tourism develops into an experience industry, there is an opportunity for museums to further engage the tourism market and increase their audiences and revenue, while at the same time strengthening their role as unique storytellers of the history, culture, and contemporary life of societies.
At the sixth installment of the Museum Conference, museum and cultural professionals from Greece, the U.S. and the UK will examine how museums and cultural institutions can strengthen their role as destinations and be part of sustainable cultural development; how they can improve relationships and form stronger partnerships with municipalities, tourism associations and other stakeholders to expand their visitors; what types of fundraising and development they can pursue based on the tourism model; and how investing in culture and museums can have a strong economic impact for countries where tourism is one of the top industries.
Keynote speakers
Jim Broughton, Head of International Engagement, The Natural History Museum
John A. Giurini, Assistant Director for Public Affairs, The J. Paul Getty Museum
Francesco Manacorda, Artistic Director, Tate Liverpool
Rosemarie Reyes, Partner, Roseworks Marketing
There will be simultaneous interpretation into Greek and English.
Entry is free, on a first come-first served basis.
Pre-registration for the conference is available on Eventbrite.
In the evening, the international speakers will run workshops together with culture and tourism experts in Greece:
Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT)
Sophia Antoniadou, Co-founder and CEO of Discover Greek Culture
Alexandra Nikiforidou, COO and Project Leader at PostScriptum Ltd
Working language for the workshops is English and no translation will be provided.
Pre-registration for the workshops is available on Eventbrite.