Article
Jet2 hosts major Greek tourism industry summit in Athens
Published: Fri 26 Jun 2026 at 11:03
Jet2, the UK’s largest operator to Greece, hosted a major summit for the Greek tourism industry in Athens this week, bringing together the Minister of Tourism, governors and senior leaders from across the industry for a day of presentations, meetings, networking and knowledge sharing focused on partnerships and growth.
The landmark event, called ‘A Partnership for growth’ was designed to strengthen strategic relationships at both regional and national level, with Jet2 becoming the first UK tour operator to host an event of this scale in Greece.
The summit reflects Jet2’s long-term commitment to Greece, providing a platform for the company to share valuable market intelligence and customers insight with partners, whilst exploring innovative ways to strengthen co-marketing activity and support the continued development of tourism in Greece.
It also provided a forum for senior figures from Jet2, including CEO Steve Heapy, to engage directly with key political and industry decision-makers as the company continues to grow and build on its successful partnership with the Greek tourism industry. Many tourism leaders and stakeholders attended the event, including the Greek Minister of Tourism, regional governors, mayors, key industry representatives, airport stakeholders and hoteliers.
Jet2 will operate its biggest ever programme to Greece this summer, underlining the destination’s continued importance as a critical part of the company’s growth strategy, meaning the summit comes at a perfect time.
Greece is now Jet2’s second-largest destination, with capacity having grown by 37% since 2023, making it the company’s fastest growing market. This growth has been supported by new routes, new destinations and extended seasons which Jet2 has launched in response to strong demand from UK holidaymakers. As a result of this growth, Jet2 is the UK’s leading operator to Greece in 2026, with 134 routes on sale between Greece and the UK. In the latest demonstration of its commitment, just yesterday Jet2 announced three brand new routes, with Summer 27 flights launching from London Luton Airport to Chania, Halkidiki (exclusive route) and Kefalonia (exclusive route).
This summer will see Jet2 operate to 16 airport gateways and 28 destinations in Greece. This includes brand-new destinations for summer 2026 such as Samos, Meganisi and the Olympus Riviera, with Kavala and Thassos set to follow for summer 2027. Customers travelling with Jet2 get to experience the award-winning benefits of travelling with the UK’s favourite airline and tour operator, which delegates at the summit learned more about.
The summit included an address from Olga Kefalogianni, the Greek Minister of Tourism, followed by a keynote speech from Steve Heapy, who praised the industry for its partnership approach to working with the company and vowed to continue working collaboratively to enjoy more mutual success.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, said: “Greece is an incredibly important destination for Jet2, and this summit demonstrates the strength of our long-term commitment to working in partnership with the Greek tourism industry. By bringing together national and regional leaders, industry partners and our own senior team, we have been able to share insight, discuss future opportunities and build on the strong relationships that underpin our continued growth in Greece. With our biggest ever summer programme ahead, we are hugely excited about the future and remain fully focused on delivering more choice, more capacity and award-winning service for our customers and partners.”
Olga Kefalogianni, Minister of Tourism, said: “The United Kingdom remains one of Greece’s most important source markets. Our partnership with Jet2 helps strengthen tourism flows, extend the tourism season and showcase the diversity of the Greek travel experience. Our long-standing collaboration is an excellent example of how strong partnerships can create value for destinations, businesses and travellers alike. This event provided a unique opportunity to build on these partnerships, and we thank Jet2 for organising a successful day.”
