Maria Helle Foy

My name is Helle and I am the owner of Discover Kalymnos. I was born in the UK in Brighton but my parents are of irish, French and greek descent. My grandfather was born on Kalymnos and from a little girl my dream was to live and work on Kalymnos. Through the creation of Discover Kalymnos I intend to live my dream.

My achievements already have given me the grounding to starting my own business. My working life in the UK has been varied I have a degree in Politics and worked in the London for a leading Political publication for the Members of Parliament. This experience meant that have dealt with so many people from all walks of life.

In the last ten years I changed track and worked for a leading tourist attraction in the UK. The Royal Pavilion and Museums in Brighton. This job has given me the experience to create Discover Kalymnos. My job was as a manager to ensure the smooth running of the front of house with particular focus on the customer experience.

One of my many successes was the development of new style of tour. The idea to bring the story alive to the visitor. We are all customers and every time we want an experience of what we are seeing and feeling. This is what I want to bring to Kalymnos through Discover Kalymnos.

So in creating Discover Kalymnos I will bring to Kalymnos the idea of telling the story of Kalymnos. The story and the traditions of Kalymnos that are unique in Greece and as visitors to the island you should have the opportunity to hear the story in an accessible way.

With my experience too of working in the culture sector in UK, I understand the needs of the cultural visitor. Through my creativity holidays and day courses I will bring my experience of understanding how all individuals can discovery their creative potential and learn new skills and knowledge. I also know what it takes to deliver this type of experience and to how to meet my customers’ expectations.

The other part of role in the museum sector was to deliver and organized varied events, which involved a lot of creative thinking and it also taught me to be very organized. So with establishing Discover Kalymnos I am able to offer the tourist, the artist, the bride, the curious, the adventurer many opportunities to discover the story, the beauty, and  the food of the country I love.

I live on site with my mother, two dogs and three cats. We are a family of Kalymian descent and British and French connection aswell. We can communicate in English, French and Greek.