THE GREEK Island of Kos is set to beat Lisbon in the race to host the 2000 ABTA Convention.
Newman Street initially favoured the Portuguese capital but is now believed to prefer Kos. A final decision will be made on July 28.
President Steven Freudmann refused to say which destination will get the nod but is known to favour resorts over busy European cities.
“We were very impressed with what Kos had to offer and it would make a good venue,” said Freudmann. “But Lisbon is also a good option.”
However, ABTA is certain to look favourably on Kos. It has a new 2,200 seat convention centre which is in walking distance from nearly all the hotels. Lisbon meanwhile, only has an 1,800 seat centre. An alternative hall can cater for 3,000 people but, like Marbella last year, it would be a temporary structure.
The only potential problem facing the Greeks is its lack of direct scheduled flights from the UK. Olympic Airways flies to Kos via Athens but the association would need to offer direct services.
“We are already speaking to Olympic,” said a spokesman.