Greece is often so closely linked to summer vacations that it rarely features in winter escape plans. Acknowledging the need to promote Greece as an all year round destination, Greek Alternate Minister of Tourism, Elena Kountoura, at the opening day of the World Travel Market in Londonnoted that Greece’s main priority will be to attract tourists in non peak- season months and promote thematic tourism.
Contrary to what most people believe, a stunning 80% of Greece is mountainous, consisting of more than 300 large or small mountains. As temperatures drop and the weather gets colder, mountains become snowy and Greece transforms into an ideal winter destination for skiing enthusiasts craving for adventure. At present, 19 ski resorts operate on the mainland, forwinter vacations in Greece.
In this spirit, Greek-American action film director, Constantine Papanicolaou, has embarked on an ambitious project to make a ski film about Greece. After several visits to the its beautiful mountains, he partnered with local skiers and snowboarders and shot the footage needed to make a movie he believes will help boost Greece as a winter tourism destination. To make this project come to life, he began a Kickstarter campaign with a trailer titled “Frozen Ambrosia- a Winter Adventure in Greece“. As a diaspora Greek himself, he’s hoping other Greeks from around the world who care about the country as much as he does will jump onboard his project and help him with the funds needed to complete the movie.
In a recent interview, Papanicolaou remarked he always knew that Greece had mountains, but it was hard to imagine them with snow as he would only visit Greece in summer. However, since the crisis erupted in late 2009 and the negative publicity about Greece, he felt it his duty to travel to his home country and make an effort to report some truth.
By directing a ski movie about Greece, Papanicolaou hopes he can show people a side of the country they never knew existed, and perhaps have a small impact on the related discourse.
