Competition Theme
The 2026 HAPCO & DES Competition invites students of Tourism, Marketing, Business, Meetings Industry studies, and Strategic Communication to explore the role that such events can play as catalysts for destination development.
Theme Title: Events that Move the City – Annual Events as City Boosters
Participants are invited to investigate how a well-designed annual event can contribute significantly to:
• tourism development
• economic growth
• destination brand differentiation
• cultural identity building
• strengthening social cohesion
• creating new job opportunities
The competition is designed as an exercise in strategic thinking, creativity, and business logic, encouraging students to think out of the box and propose ideas that are measurable and feasible.
Download the Call for Interest and Specifications
Award
The winner of the competition will win an honorary award and recognition from HAPCO & DES, publicity in press releases and all communication of the conference as well as free access to selected conferences organized by the members of the Board of Directors. In addition, they will win a hospitality prize within the country.
Writing/presentation Instructions
• Contest texts should be written in Greek or English.
• Finalists will present in English.
For more information regarding the implementation and submission of the file, as well as for any assistance you need, you can contact hapco@hapco.gr (Mrs. Sandra Koutsi) with SUBJECT: HAPCO STUDENT COMPETITION 2026 QUERIES
Faculty and students have the opportunity to address the members of the HAPCO & DES Board of Directors and all members of HAPCO & DES in general, for the collection of information, offers, proposals that will help in the preparation of the file.
Submission Instructions
• Submission of applications will begin on December 5, 2025 and will end on February 20, 2026.
• Participants will have to register in the present online form.
• All files (PDF, images, videos and others) should be gathered in a compressed file (.ZIP) which will be posted on wetransfer.com or equivalent large file cloud hosting service. In this submission form, contestants will note the link to this file.
• On March 5 the three (3) short-listed applicants will be announced, and they will receive a confirmation email.
• The contestants will present their ideas on March 17 during the conference, where the winner of the competition will be decided.
• During the presentation, there will be a team consisting of renowned professionals in the conference space as well as others with a scientific background that will act as a crisis committee.
To participate, fill in the fields below. If you participate as a group, the correspondent details are filled in:
