The City of Athens designs and implements development and promotional actions to enhance the city’s image, ensuring that Athens becomes an ideal destination for residents, visitors, professionals, and investors.
The promotion of innovation, competitiveness, and entrepreneurship—with an emphasis on the sectors of Tourism and Culture—the smart and sustainable management of Athens’ urban environment, as well as the promotion of social cohesion and inclusion, are areas of focus for the Municipality. This is primarily achieved through the programs of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (EATA) and the Athens Municipality’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hub, INNOVATHENS.
The Athens Development and Destination Management Agency supports the Municipality’s strategic and investment priorities by securing funding through European programs. At the same time, it partners with private sector entities to jointly design and implement programs and projects that contribute to social, business, and urban development
The goal of these programs is to bolster the city’s visitor economy through projects concerning the development of Athens via the upgrading of public spaces and services for residents and visitors, the promotion of the city abroad as an autonomous destination 12 months a year, as well as destination management through visitor reception and the creation of a unified experience. Investments and the strengthening of business activity in Athens are among the priorities of EATA, which seeks to stimulate local markets and highlight the city as an international investment destination through incentives and investment opportunities.
Οι επενδύσεις και η ενίσχυση της επιχειρηματικής δραστηριότητας στην Αθήνα, συγκαταλέγονται στις προτεραιότητες της ΕΑΤΑ που μέσα από κίνητρα και επενδυτικές ευκαιρίες επιδιώκει την τόνωση των τοπικών αγορών, αλλά και την ανάδειξη της πόλης σε διεθνή επενδυτικό προορισμό.
As an Intermediate Management Body and through resources allocated from the “Attica” Operational Program, EATA implements interventions concerning urban regeneration, environmental protection, energy efficiency improvement, health defense, social welfare, and education, as well as actions for cultural and tourism development and entrepreneurship support, targeting the citizens, visitors, and entrepreneurs of the city of Athens.
EATA also serves as a Final Beneficiary as a proposing and/or implementing body for projects funded by EU programs (HORIZON, URBACT, INTERREG, DG ECHO, UIA, EASY, etc.) for the implementation of the Municipality’s development program, and strengthens the international networking of the City of Athens through participation in international networks.
One of the company’s core purposes is the promotion and establishment of Athens as a leading conference and tourism destination through the provision of high-level services throughout the year.
The management of activities related to destination promotion through B2B channels is handled via This is Athens-Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB). The Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau is the first specialized local structure of its kind created in Greece, in accordance with international standards. Among ACVB’s goals is to highlight and promote Athens’ potential as a city-break, leisure, as well as a destination for conferences and corporate meetings. For this reason, it invests in actions that strengthen existing tourism infrastructure, project a unified and competitive identity for the city, and promote “Athens” as a destination in the international market.
Through This is Athens & Partners, the City of Athens collaborates with a group of major tourism stakeholders who jointly invest in the development and promotion of Athens as a destination for international markets. The Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (EATA) collaborates on strategic and promotional actions with the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Aegean Airlines, Athens International Airport, Lampsa S.A., Lamda Development, and Ionian Hotel Enterprises.
The web portal at thisisathens.org features stories by local and international journalists, as well as original photography, videos, and two series of podcasts in English. This is the Official Visitor Guide of the City of Athens in English, French, and German. This is Athens is designed to attract visitors and showcase major attractions, unique urban vibes, and a curated event calendar focused on visitors.
The portal also hosts This is Athens With a Local, a program that connects visitors with local volunteers who offer free walks in their neighborhoods.
INNOVATHENS – ο Κόμβος Καινοτομίας και Επιχειρηματικότητας του Δήμου Αθηναίων, operates at the Technopolis of the City of Athens, strengthening entrepreneurship, encouraging innovative spirit, and offering opportunities for education and retraining in new technologies and skills.
INNOVATHENS is a modern, open space for supporting new entrepreneurship and developing digital skills. A meeting hub for people with innovative ideas who want to turn them into businesses. A living organism that meets the modern and constantly changing cognitive needs of people seeking work in an increasingly demanding labor environment.
To achieve all this, business consultants, entrepreneurs, potential investors, academics, researchers, and specialized mentors join forces at Innovathens, offering their services with consistency and high professionalism.
The various forms of education, information, and counseling support (series of seminars and workshops, specialized presentations and events, exhibitions and festivals, competitions and hackathons) offered by Innovathens also provide the opportunity for networking and collaborations among all players in innovation and business.
The City of Athens recently founded the Athens Film Office , which aspires to transform Athens into a “Film Friendly City”—a city friendly to international film, television, and advertising productions, facilitating filming procedures and offering suitable incentives to attract international productions.
Through the Athens Digital Lab του Δήμου Αθηναίων, the first municipal center for technological innovation, technological ideas are supported and transformed into advanced IoT solutions in Greece. For the first time, a municipality’s innovation lab focuses on the city’s needs, uses new technologies, and encourages young people to innovate along with their city. A unique opportunity is given to young entrepreneurs to experiment and create, giving a new impetus to the city.
ADL is a pioneering venture at the “heart” of the Greek ecosystem that introduces and instills innovation into the Municipality’s structures, supports youth entrepreneurship, and creates the conditions that lead to the development of policymaking tools aimed at economic prosperity and growth.
new digital platform, which aspires to be the most dynamic commercial guide for Athens, has recently been made available to Athenians and visitors to the city. Through the new Athens Shopping platform, which is the result of steady cooperation between the City of Athens and Athens Shopping, every user can discover Athens’ quality market and find whatever they are looking for, by category and by region.
The online guide is designed in a user-friendly way, showcasing businesses by product and service category (dining, food, home goods, electrical goods, jewelry, gifts, fashion, bookstores, department stores, etc.), as well as by region.
In the coming period, the platform will also be available in English, so that it can also be used by foreign visitors to the city.