New online presence helps tourists discover Palazzo Almare’s creative cuisine, boosting income by a third
Family-owned restaurant Palazzo Almare is situated in the historical centre of Chania, on the Greek island of Crete. While the restaurant has always been a hit with the locals, owner Maximos Petrocheilos wanted to encourage more tourists to experience his creative Cretan cuisine.
“We knew the only way to attract people from outside of Greece and compete with our more-established competitors was to improve our visibility online,” he says. Maximos attended Grow Greek Tourism Online training by Google, which inspired and empowered him to use the power of digital to boost his business. “Grow Greek Tourism Online completely opened my eyes to the potential of digital tools and the importance of having an online presence — an effective website, being active on social media, and updating our Google My Business listing,” says Maximos. “I learnt how to work with digital to reach people in different markets abroad and gained the confidence to use tools like Google AdWords and Google Analytics to improve my business.”
Applying these new digital skills has enabled Palazzo Almare to experience significant growth. The restaurant now attracts customers from across the world, and Maximos has hired nine new staff members to meet the increased demand. “In the one year since Grow Greek Tourism Online, we’ve increased our revenue by 33%, and over half of that is due to using online tools,” says Maximos. “Thanks to the course, I now realise that having a digital presence is more important to a business than I initially thought, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to achieve success.”
In the one year since Grow Greek Tourism Online, we’ve increased our revenue by 33%, and more than half of that is because of using online tools.