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Greece's latest tourism industry news by Greek Travel Pages

Clean Greek Coastline Cost 18.7 Billion Drachmas

Kostas Laliotis, environment and public works minister, announced the completion of a 7-year cleanup program for Greek coastlines that cost some 18.7 billion drachmas.

First Batch Of Promotional Funds Handed Over To EOT

Hellenic Tourism Properties handed over some two billion drachmas to the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) recently as the first payment for the organization's tourism advertising campaigns abroad, which covers the majority of debt owed for same. As well, it's now official:...

Hellenic Tourism Properties Heads For Bourse

Along with the privatization of its casinos, Hellenic Tourism Properties will privatize itself. The first step was taken last month with the sale of convertible privatization bonds, or pre-stock (prometoxa), worth 800 million euros (272.6 billion drachmas), which is about a 25%...

SETE Questions Government’s Tourism Data And Methods

A delegation from the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) met with Prime Minister Costas Simitis last month, at his request, where the tourism professionals expressed their belief that the government has failed to take tourism seriously.

Airline Specialist Takes Over Tourism General Secretariat

Demetris Georgarakis, an electronic engineer with some 20 years experience in the airline sector (Olympic Airways) has been appointed to head the newly created tourism general secretariat, which is directly under the development ministry.

A note by the publisher

There were some very discontent tourists down below the Acropolis last month. Some of these people came from as far away as Japan with their main purpose being to visit this unique part of their universal heritage. But because government, through ineptness or incompetence, has...

Silver Star Opens Athens Office

Thessaloniki-based Silver Star Holidays opened a branch office in Athens recently. Like the head office, it deals only directly with travel agents with tour packages to Malta, Turkey and Syria. It is also the exclusive representative in Greece for the Corinthia hotel group.

Heronia Inaugurates Thessaloniki Branch

Helen Trentzos has come a long way since she left her job in a Piraeus shipping company, and as a sharp looking young woman opened a travel office in the early 1970s that specialized in seaman travel.

Greek Hotels Look To International Management

With the recent agreement between the Chandris hotel group and the French hotel group Accor, whereby Accor takes over the management of the Chandris group, the Greek capital's major hotels are for the most part managed by multi-national hotel units. This is in stark difference to...

Hoteliers Agree To Bookings For 2004 Games

After promises by government quarters to hold off on any new hotels other than those already approved or being approved (4,500 rooms), the Athens Hoteliers Association agreed to book another 10% of available rooms in luxury hotel units for officials of the 2004 Olympic Games....

Tourism Institute Says Tourism Arrivals Will Drop This Year

Private sector tourism professionals say we are in for a bad year, but the government's tourism organization insists that we'll see another increase in arrivals this year. The end result will most likely be somewhere in between.

New Offers For Olympic Airways

Axon Airlines SA, Golden Aviation Services (the Restis shipping group), Integrated Airline Solutions and Cyprus Airways deposited new bids for the purchase of national carrier Olympic Airways. As we go to press, bidders are said to be on their way to London to discuss the bids...

Travel Agents Blame Government For Tourism Arrival Decrease

Because government employees can not do their job properly and because government is unable or unwilling to give the proper incentive or education to rectify the matter, Greece loses billions of drachmas in precious tourism foreign exchange, says Yiannis Evangelou, president of...

Athens No Longer Considered A Saturated Area For New Hotel Units

Some 20 new hotels with a total capacity of some 5.000 beds and costing an estimated 100 billion drachmas are expected to be built in Attica over the years leading up to the 2004 Olympics, Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said last month.

Tourism Arrivals Up Over Last Year

Arrivals to Greece during the first half of this year proved to be on a scale expected by local analysts. Arrivals to the Dodecanese resort island of Rodos, from Athens, rose by 32% to 277,308 in the first six months of the year, compared with 1999, the Civil Aviation Authority...

Temes Senior Open Golf Tournament Hands Out 70 Million Drachmas

Ninety of the best senior golf professionals in the world (three are Greek) arrived in Athens last month to play a tournament that hands out some 70 million drachmas to winners. The tournament will be televised over 20 television stations around the world and be seen by some 140...

Major State Investment Program For Tourism

Athens could soon acquire a theme park, an aquarium, a marine research park and more marinas as part of a major two-year investment project by the Hellenic Tourism Organization's new real estate subsidiary, Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said last month.

Amphitrion Takes Delivery Of Six New Tour Coaches

The Athens-based Amphitrion group says that it has taken delivery of six new, ultra-modern tour coaches. The company says the new vehicles were needed to meet increased demand and the needs of its clientele.

Manessis Renovates New Quarters

Greek travel agency Manessis recently moved to newly- purchased offices in downtown Athens and is now in the process of complete renovations of these quarters with the assistance of the Stylianides architectural team. The new offices will include the operation of an Internet...

Avionic Introduces Flights To Smyrna

Greek airline Avionic last month introduced a direct flights from Athens to the Turkish city of Smyrna. The direct flights are offered every Monday and Friday.