It is a great pleasure to greet the international business exhibition Philoxenia 2008 and welcome visitors to Thessaloniki, the capital of southeastern Europe and the Balkans.
For the past four years Philoxenia has been developing to even greater status levels and to a stronger role in the wider region of southeastern Europe.
Tourist destinations that will play a prominent role in the future are those who will strive to develop strong marketing actions and introduce new technologies, was the outcome of the seventh annual Tourism & Development Conference of the Association of Greek Tourism...
The newly established Athens Tourism and Economic Development Company (ATEDCO) recently announced its aim to promote Athens on an international level and include the capital among the top destinations for city and business tourism.
A recent familiarization tour of the region of Western Macedonia and specifically to the prefectures of Kozani, Florina, Kastoria and Grevena, brought journalists and travel agents closer to the advantages that makes this a worthwhile all-year-round destination.
Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos and the president of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, Nikos Aggelopoulos, recently decided to work together on issues in relation to tourist traffic data and marketing strategies.
Because government fails to enact in unison the tourism sector fails to perform at an acceptable level, says the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises.
The Consumer Protection Center recently released consumer complaints—in regards to tourism services and establishments—recorded from 1 July to 15 August and called on to the ministries to finally deal with the situation.
Fourteen Greek coasts, winners of the 'Blue Flags' international program for environmental education, information and awareness were recently dropped from the 2008 list and lost their award.
Prior to an agreement between state tourism officials and the private tourism sector (see page 3), Geece's tourism ministry expressed its satisfaction with this year's tourism figures.
The Athens Tourism and Economic Development Company (ATEDCO) recently became an official member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and sealed its role as an official tourism body of the city.
Transport and Communications Minister Costis Hatzidakis recently announced a joint ministerial decree in which Araxos National Airport (45 km west of Patras) becomes an official air gateway to Greece.
Britain's third largest package holiday operator XL Leisure Group went bankrupt last month due to high prices for jet fuel and adverse economic conditions.
The Third International Rhodes Tourism Forum, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Dodecanissos and the Association for the Development and Progress of the Dodecanissos, will be held on Rodos 24-25 October.
The International Air Transport Association recently announced a revised industry financial forecast for airline losses this year and 2009 and evaluated that the difficult business conditions will remain.
The European Union last month gave its consent to Greece's plan to privatize the Greek carrier Olympic Airlines next year, but said the airline must pay back 850 million euros in illegal state aid it received between 2005-2007.
A recent study shows that tourists to Greece's capital spend more money, visit more sites and keep hotels more profitable, and it appears that the trend will continue.
