The “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” is not only one of the most significant sport and cultural events in Greece, but a signature tourism event with tangible impact in the country’s economy. 

The top sport tourism event of Greece could not be left out of the top annual awards “Tourism Awards 2018” presented yesterday evening. The Athens Marathon was awarded with one of the most important prizes of the night, the Gold Award as a Major Tourism Event. 

This distinction showcases the huge legacy of the Authentic Marathon, not only within the sport community, but to the Greek community and economy as a whole.  The Athens Marathon is not only a major sport event with 120 years of history, but an event that gives back to Greece more than 30 million Euros through its tourism income (direct/indirect) generated from runners visiting from abroad and outside Athens-Attica, charity and social initiatives, and through SEGAS’ and its sponsors’ expenses for the event.

With the constant support of Greek National Tourism Organization the Athens Marathon has been successfully promoted in countries abroad.  In fact, since 2006, the Athens Marathon has been represented in more than 53 international EXPO’s of other significant Marathon events.  

The 2018 Athens Marathon, with major sponsor OPAP, will be held on Sunday November 11th and runners from all over the world are showing intensive interest in being here and experiencing its magic. Our expectation is that more than 53,000 runners of all ages will participate in all of the event’s races, creating a huge festivity from Marathon city to the Panathenaic Stadium, making Athens again the sport capital of the World.

*The Tourism Awards is a set of awards recognizing excellence in the events, production, marketing, and communication industry, given annually by Boussias Communications and Marketing Week magazine.