Fraport Greece celebrated World Tourism Day, highlighting the connection between two UNESCO-designated destinations

On World Tourism Day, Fraport Greece organised a special event at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” for the fourth consecutive year, focusing on the connection between Thessaloniki and Mount Olympus. Through gastronomy, the event highlighted the unique identity of the two destinations and the connection between them, presenting a unified travel narrative: “THESSALONIKI. YOUR PATH TO OLYMPUS”.

This year’s theme holds symbolic significance, as Mount Olympus was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2026 as a mixed property, in recognition of its outstanding natural and cultural value. At the same time, Thessaloniki has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Gastronomy since 2021.

The event, with the central message “Land for Taste, Rise for Myth. One getaway, two UNESCO Wonders.”, took place on Monday, September 28, in the Departures Hall of Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”, in collaboration with the Region of Central Macedonia, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the Municipality of Thermi, and the Thessaloniki Hoteliers Association.

Travellers and visitors had the opportunity to discover, through flavours and culinary references, two distinct yet interconnected worlds: on the one hand, Thessaloniki, a city with a multicultural identity, and on the other, Mount Olympus and the surrounding regions, with their rich local traditions, PDO products, and flavours associated with the mountain and its foothills. In this way, gastronomy served as a common meeting point for the two destinations, transforming the departure from the airport into the starting point of a broader experience of discovery.

Mr George Vilos, Executive Director of Commercial and Business Development at Fraport Greece, stated: “It was with great pleasure that we celebrated World Tourism Day again this year at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”, creating a unique experience for travellers and visitors to the city. The inclusion of Mount Olympus in the UNESCO World Heritage List provides an important opportunity to highlight its unique connection to Thessaloniki and to present the airport as the first stop on this journey. Through gastronomy, we have brought together two destinations with different but equally distinctive identities, highlighting what unites them and enriches the travel experience.”