An agreement to promote religious tourism in Chania

Prospects for the development of religious and pilgrimage tourism in Chania were discussed by members of the Management Board of the Hoteliers’ Union of Chania with Titus, Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas, during a meeting which took place on 3rd June 2026, following the latter’s election and recent assumption of his pastoral duties.

Taking part in the meeting were representatives of the Hoteliers’ Union, the Association of Tourist Offices of Western Crete and tourist businesses, who discussed the possibilities for promoting the Nomos as a destination which combines the religious, cultural and historic wealth of the area.

Group photo of people standing behind a desk laden with papers, with the Metropolitan in the centre.
Meeting of the Hoteliers’ Association of Chania with Titus, Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas, 3rd June 2026.

Special emphasis was given to historic monasteries, Byzantine monuments, churches and local traditions – elements which the participants agreed could add weight to the touristic product of Chania and attract visitors with a special interest in religious and cultural tourism.

During the course of the meeting, emphasis was laid on the need for closer cooperation between the Church, tourist bodies and local government, with the aim of making better use of the area’s comparative advantages and promoting Chania as a destination which combines faith, history, culture and Cretan hospitality.

The meeting ended with a general agreement that the development of religious tourism can constitute a further element for boosting the local economy, exploiting the Nomos’s rich stock of ecclesiastical and cultural resources.

Attending on behalf of the Hoteliers’ Union of Chania were its president Manolis Stamatakis and other officials. Also taking part were the president of the Association of Tourist Offices of Western Crete Michalis Kyriakakis, Alkibiadis Kyriakakis of Kyriakakis Travel, and Nikolaos Tzatzanis, head of the religious tourism office Religious Travel and a member of the Tourism team of the Municipality of Chania.

Cooperation between church and municipality
Two days later, on 5th June, a memorandum for the development of religious and pilgrimage tourism was signed by the Mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis, Metropolitan Titus, and Athinagoras, Metropolitan of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, who is President of the Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union.

The initiative aims to promote the area’s religious, spiritual and cultural heritage, embodied in Chania’s monasteries, historic churches and ecclesiastical monuments, to visitors from Greece and abroad. According to the participants, the collaboration aims not merely at an increase in visitor numbers, but the attraction of visitors with particular interest in the history, culture and Orthodox tradition of Crete. At the same time it aims to increase touristic activity outside the main summer period, exploiting an important but hitherto little appreciated facet of the area’s identity.

Four men, the two Metropolitans with black hats and cassocks and silver chains of office, sit behind a table with papers in front of them.
Pictured at the signing of the memorandum on religious tourism on 5th June, from the left: Chania’s deputy mayor for tourism Nektarios Psaroudakis; Titus, Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas; the Mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis; Athinagoras, Metropolitan of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and President of the Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union. Photo: Municipal Press Office.

The Mayor stressed that Chania has a rich store of spiritual and cultural assets, which could form a source of attraction for people looking for itineraries of faith and historical memory. For his part, Metropolitan Athinagoras of Belgium emphasised that Crete has had a persistent Christian presence since the time of the Apostle Titus to the present day, a detail which will be of special interest to visitors from all over Europe.

Metropolitan Titus described it as a significant initiative which can highlight the religious riches of Chania, while deputy mayor for tourism Nektarios Psaroudakis announced that in the coming period targeted promotional activities will be developed in European countries, with the aim of establishing Chania as a recognised destination of religious and pilgrimage-related interest.
(Haniotika Nea, 05,08/6/26, www.chania.gr)

The signing of the memorandum represents the fruition of a project already mooted at the conference on religious tourism held at Chania City Hall on Saturday 17th May 2025, which was attended by Metropolitan Athinagoras and by representatives from the Patriarchates of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, from the Churches of Cyprus and of Poland, and from other Metropolises of the Orthodox diaspora.

At the time, Nikos Tzatzanis of the Religious Tourism section of the Municipality’s Tourism Committee, stressed to reporters the importance of the visit by members of other Orthodox Churches, enabling them to become acquainted with local culture. “We will be drafting a Memorandum, which will not be signed (the election of the new Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas needs to come first), to define the objectives and how this vision for the Nomos of Chania will be implemented,” Mr Tzatzanis said.