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Greece's latest tourism industry news by Greek Travel Pages

A note by the publisher

Λίγα μόνο χρόνια πριν, τα γεωγραφικά δεδομένα της Ελλάδας αποτελούσαν επτασφράγιστο μυστικό λίγων. Η προμήθειά τους από την ΓΥΣ μπορούσε να γίνει μόνο σε έντυπη μορφή με εξαιρετικά μεγάλο κόστος. Η δε αγορά ενός γεωγραφικού συστήματος πληροφοριών (GIS), λόγω κόστο...

Cabinet Reshuffle Changes Tourism Minister

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis recently proceeded with a government reshuffle whereas the up until now tourism minister, Aris Spiliotopoulos (now education minister), was replaced by New Democracy Member of Parliament for Evia, Kostas Markopoulos.

Prime Minister Announces Tourism Measures

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in late December announced 14 measures to support the Greek tourism industry.

KEDKE Reacts to Sojourn Tax Reduction

The Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE) recently gave a negative response in regards to the sojourn tax reduction from two percent to 0.5 percent.

Hoteliers Worried about Contract Revisions

Hoteliers on Crete recently expressed their surprise that major tour operators want to revise the 2009 holiday contracts and demand price reductions.

Crisis Management Committee Has First Meeting

The Crisis Management Committee, set up last summer by former Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos, had its first meeting during December's outbreak of violence after the fatal police shooting of a Greek teenager.

Foreign Arrivals for 2009 Predicted to Fall

A Eurobank survey predicts a significant slowdown in arrivals of tourists from abroad to Greece in 2009.

SETE Gives 2008 Overview

The president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, Nikos Angelopoulos, recently called for urgent measures to support and strengthen the tourism sector in order to minimize the losses that are expected in 2009.

ABTA Says Greece Not Only “Sea and Sun”

Tour operators have improved holiday offers to Greece and promote a wide variety of packages such as adventure travel, spa, island tours, city breaks and wedding packages to show that there is much more to Greece than just beaches, according to this year's "2009 Travel Trends...

Greek Hospitality Market Analyzed

Greece cannot compete on a price basis with new destinations under its current hospitality cost structure but the country has the necessary element to reinvent itself, reshape its product, and market itself efficiently in order to maintain the positive publicity and the momentum...

Eastern Macedonia-Thrace for Alternative Tourism

For many years Greece has promoted the classical form of tourism, the so-called “sun and sea,” but alternative forms of tourist interest should be considered as well for areas that visitors may prefer besides the islands, said the secretary general of the Region of Eastern...

Rodopi Mountains Unexploited

Many cross-border cultural resources in the Rodopi Mountains that remain unexploited to date could lead to numerous positive results in the fields of economy and tourism, according to a recent study by the Regional Department of Thrace of the Technical Chamber of Greece.

New Agritourism Electronic Gateway

The non-profit enterprise Agroxenia recently presented its new electronic gateway for agritourism travel routes.

EU Funding for Greek Alternative Tourism

The amount of EU funds for the improvement of Greek tourist services for the 2007-2013 period amounts to 118 million euros, which includes the finance of Greek alternative tourism forms, said the European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, Gunter Verheugen, recently.

IATA Projects Loss for Airline Industry in 2009

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced its forecast for 2009. It expects an industry loss of 2.5 billion dollars. All regions, except the U.S., are expected to report larger losses in 2009 than in 2008.

Travelers Complaints Increase in 2008

The Civil Aviation Authority saw an 18 percent increase in traveler complaints in 2008 against airlines that violated EU rules on passenger rights.

Airlines Warned Over Passenger Reimbursement

The EU's Court of Justice recently ruled that airlines must compensate passengers if they cancel a flight for technical reasons, unless the blame is due to "extraordinary" events.

Yachting in for a Rough Ride This Year

Early bookings for marine tourism this season reported an 80 percent drop compared with 2007, and due to the global economic crisis it is unknown what to expect for 2009, the president of the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owner Association, Antonis Stelliatos, told Greek press recently.

Shipping Becomes Priority for Piraeus Mayor

Mayor of Piraeus Panagiotis Fasoulas recently proposed the organization of an annual event, on the level of the International Exhibition of Thessaloniki, to support shipping.

Superfast XII to Set Sail to Heraklio

Attica group recently applied to the Ministry of Mercantile Marine, the Aegean and Island Policy in order for the Superfast XII to serve the Piraeus-Heraklio route. Minoan Lines and ANEK currently operate the Piraeus-Heraklio route and serve some 1.4 million passengers (2007),...
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