Vodafone, the London-based global telecom giant – in collaboration with the Greek National Tourism Organisation and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels – has introduced Vodafone Explore Greece, an innovative smartphone application geared to promote Greece as a destination to Vodafone’s millions of subscribers worldwide.

The free application, aiming to make information on the Greek tourism product easier to access, will be promoted to Vodafone’s massive international subscriber-base, a move that will no-doubt have a positive impact on the promotion of Greece’s tourism product on a global level.

“The Vodafone Explore Greece application enables us to talk about Greece; to highlight our country’s unique natural beauty, our culture and high level of services available”, said at the press conference Mr. Glafkos Persianis, CEO of Vodafone Greece. “Through our technology and international presence, we are contributing to the efforts underway to furthering the development of our country”.

The Vodafone Explore Greece app, available in both Greek and English, provides a range of useful information for those planning to visit Greece, and is also ideal for those already in Greece wanting instant destination-specific information.

The app, is free to download for all Android Smartphone users worldwide, even for non-Vodafone subscribers, and features a plethora of original content that makes it unique to other travel apps. It’s simple to use, includes rich and dynamic audiovisual content that is constantly updated, while the app’s GPS capability provides users with information on what to see and do close to where they are.

Smartphone android users, who download Vodafone’s Explore Greece app, will be able to get information on different tourist destinations in Greece, including information on accommodation, events, entertainment, food, nightlife, etc., as well as detailed interactive maps of places they want to visit.

In addition, the application will provide them with information on beaches, history art, culture, geography, etc., but also resources of not-to-be-missed areas of natural beauty, tourist attractions, archaeological sites, museums, and close to 50,000 different points of interest in Greece. Subscribers who don’t speak Greek will also be able to use a common phrases translation tool, which for added convenience includes sound.

Key to the app’s success is its interactivity, as users can share and upload photos on facebook. Subscribers around the world will also get a special treat, as Vodafone has secured a series of offers from which they can benefit from.

Integral to the development of the app was Vodafone’s collaboration with the GNTO and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels. The public-private partnership is geared to promote Greek tourism, and provide a tool, which people from all the world can remotely access, in order to view and learn about one of the world’s most beautiful destinations, Greece.

Vodafone Explore Greece is already available for mobile smartphones running Android and will soon be made available for the iPhone in the coming days.

At the press conference, Secretary General of the Greek Tourism Organisation, Mr. George Koletsos, said: "Our cooperation with Vodafone is a pioneering move aimed at the targeted marketing and promotion of the Greek tourism product. Our strategy and objective is to create a dynamic network of partnerships that will maximize the promotion of Greek tourism with zero cost to the public service. This public-private partnership represents an innovative approach whose goal is to support the national effort, undertaken by all, to strengthen the tourism industry and maximize, as a result, the social and economic benefits”.