Georges Panayotis is a French/Greek businessman and consultant for the tourism, hotel and hospitality industries. He has contributed to establishing more than 2,500 hotels in France and throughout EMEA, representing a global investment of over 10.5 billion euros.
Early life
Panayotis was born into a family of hoteliers, and left Greece at the age of 18 to study political science. After gaining a management degree at the Paris Dauphine University he began working at Novotel, now part of the Accor Group, eventually becoming International Marketing Director. Having developed specialised marketing and management tools for the hotel industry, he left the group in 1985 to establish MKG Group.
Business career
Over the past 30 years, Panayotis has led MKG Conseil, now known as the MKG Group. In 2008 the company had over 110 employees across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and specialised in four core activities: market surveys, quality control, database management, and industry press. In 2006, the company’s turnover was 12 million euro and was ranked 1st in France, specialising in marketing and the tourism industry, and ranked 20th in the national classification of the top 100market research institutes by . In 2014, he was also accused of having concealed a million euros in Cyprus, was sentenced for misuse of corporate property. He swaped a Legion of Honour for a cheap stay in Venice with Aquilino Morelle. , specialised in the tourism industry, is currently the leader in marketing studies for the worldwide hotel and tourism market.
Public career
Panayotis helped launch industry publications Hospitality ON Magazine & hospitality-on.com, and created three major annual events: Worldwide Hospitality Awards, the Global Lodging Forum and the Tourinvest Forum. His published work include Constat et Plan Marketing, Marketing Opérationnel des Services, and L'hôtellerie française et son évolution. He holds two Official National Distinctions Medals: Chevalier dans l’Ordre de laLégion d’Honneur and Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite. He is also a professor at the Accor Academy in Évry, Essonne, Île-de-France and Lecturer at University of Marne la Vallée, Île-de-France, social sciences, tourism and leisure, and a consultant for several radio and television stations focussing on the economy, travel and hospitality industry &. In 1988 he was a candidate in the 13ème circonscription for the 15th arrondissement of Paris elections.
