The Region of Western Greece is one of the 13 Regions of the country, with an important geostrategic position, as it constitutes the gateway to and from Adriatic and Western Europe. RWG provides significant trade opportunities and proximity to important target markets, thus facilitating the extroverted orientation of companies. At the same time, the distance between the Region’s main business center (in Patras) and Athens is short, enabling the interconnection of the Region.
The Region of Western Greece hosts four well-organized business hubs, namely the Patras VI.PE. , VIO.PA. in Glafkos-Patras, the Patras Science Park and the NAVIPE Astakou
There are 3 Higher Education Institutions in the Region of Western Greece:
- University of Patras
- University of Peloponnese
- Hellenic Open University
The number of students in higher education corresponds to 2.1% of the population of the Region, and therefore, the Region is ranked in the 1st place among the 13 Regional Units of Greece, in terms of the share of students in total population (in %).
The climate of the Region of Western Greece depends on the geographical location and the altitude. The climate of Greece is Mediterranean, with mild winters and warm summers in the low-altitude areas of RWG and cold winters and cool summers in the high-altitude areas of the Region. This combination promotes the agricultural activity of various corps, .at the same time, these climatic conditions provide the possibility for RWG to extent the tourist season, combining opportunities for summer and winter tourism.
- Multi-collection, dynamic tourism product that combines traditional and alternative forms of tourism
The Region of Western Greece is accessible to tourists by air through the airports of Araxos and Aktios, by sea through the port of Patras, but also by road, through the Ionia Road and the Athens-Patras highway. Tourism is an important source of income for the Region of Western Greece, as it contributes to the Regional Unit’s GDP by 3%. The table that follows presents the evolution of some key tourism indicators across time.
The Region of Western Greece has a strategic geographical position as it connects the prefecture of Peloponnese with Central Greece and Epirus. In 2017, a breath-taking project was completed for the area, namely the Athens-Patras highway with a length of 235 km. In addition, the city of Patras is connected, with Athens and Thessaloniki through Olympia Odos, while, Antirio is connected with Ioannina through the Ionia Odos. In addition, the completion of the Rio - Antirio Bridge constitutes one of the most important road infrastructure projects in the region, , which is crossed by approximately 10,500 vehicles every day, and has greatly contributed to the connectivity between Peloponnese and Central Greece.