REGION OF CRETE / SENSE THE AUTHENTIC

CHALLENGE

In the difficult and unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic that has affected tourism worldwide, we undertook to design the tourism campaign of the Region of Crete with the aim of highlighting the competitive advantages of the destination and strengthening the brand name “CRETE” on a global level, taking into serious consideration the ever-changing tourism conditions.

ACTIONS

What makes Crete unique? It is more than the beauty, the history, the richness of the land and the heart of its people. It is its truth and authenticity.

The central idea of the campaign is to highlight the uniqueness that Crete as a destination offers to its visitors. It focuses on the authenticity, but also on the richness of the experience, spread over the four seasons and in all sectors of tourist activity, always with the same differentiating characteristic: authenticity.

With the central message “Sense the authentic”, we have created a campaign that invites the potential visitor to discover all that makes up the unique tourist experience of Crete. It encourages them to feel, to experience with all their senses the hospitality offered by the locals and tourism professionals, through their passion and love for their work and their innate moral obligation to offer the “best” and above all the “real”.

The integrated campaign of the Region of Crete invites the potential visitor to feel with all his senses the wealth of experiences he can enjoy on the island: Landscapes, flavors, adventures, activities, spring, summer, autumn, winter, 365 days a year. The campaign, which started in 2020 and ended in 2023, includes 10 thematic videos, 4 radio spots in 5 languages, new high quality and aesthetic photographic material, and had been launched simultaneously in Greece and abroad with TV commercials, press, Internet and social media.

The videos, which capture the authenticity of Crete, were directed by award-winning Cretan director Thodoris Papadoulakis.

IMPACT

In 2021 Crete was at the top of the list of tourist arrivals in Greece. After the launch of the campaign and for a period of 6 months from July-December, air arrivals of foreign visitors reached 2.1 million, reaching 77% of the ‘’golden year’’ of 2019, while the off-season months exceeded all expectations!

AWARDS

Double award for the tourism campaign “Crete. Sense The Authentic” at the Tourism Awards 2022:

• Gold/Platinum award in the category “Destinations: City break / Summer / Winter / Family / Cultural / Sports & adventure / Year-round”
• Silver award in the category “Digital Tourism: Video Content”