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Greece's latest tourism industry news by Greek Travel Pages (gtp)

Greece Top Preference for U.S. Travelers

Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, busy promoting Greece abroad, last month visited the United States once again where this time instead of movie makers he was on hand to receive an award from the country's biggest travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, whose readers chose...

Yacht Arrivals More than Double

The number of foreign recreational boats arriving in Greek ports and marinas has more than doubled this summer. Data collected by the sector's professional bodies and submitted to the Ministry of Tourism Development, show that from May up until the end of August there were 1,101...

Ministries Cooperate to Promote Ancient Greek World

At a joint press conference held at Zappeion Hall last month, the minister of tourism, the minister for the Aegean, and deputy ministers for the economy and for culture presented an ambitious series of conferences to be held through-out the summer.

Not All Greek Destinations Are Suffering

Numbers of visitors to popular Greek destinations outside of the general Athens area - passengers on scheduled flights arriving at Athens International Airport were up 14% during the first half of the year when compared with the same period last year - may not be as high as last...

Mykonos Theoxenia Readies Grand Opening for June

It may have taken four years, but the total rebirth of the historic Xenia Hotel on Mykonos is complete with a new name, a new owner and a completely new look. Andreas Antoniou, general manager of Louis Hotels Greece, says his company leased the property from the Hellenic Tourism...

Full Liberation of Ferry Routes Doubtful

Presently, four of Greece's major ferry routes -- Dodekanissos, Cylades, Argosaronikos, Crete -- fulfill the requirements for complete liberation when discussions are finalized between Greece's merchant marine ministry and the European Commission.

Summer Arrivals Offset Earlier Losses

An increase in foreign arrivals during the early part of the summer so far has helped cancel the losses seen in the early part of the year. And in an effort to stem some profiteering, particularly at eating establishments, government inspectors continue to visit tourism...

Amphitrion Opens New Office On Santorini

One of Greece's leading travel companies, the Amphitrion Group of Companies, continued its expansion activities recently with the launch of a new branch office on the island of Santorini.

A (Royal) Family Affair

The dream of most Greek small business owners is for their children to follow in their footsteps and expand the family business. In most cases, however, their children follow their own dreams. In rare cases, all of the children's dreams follow that of the founder. One such dream...

Blue Star Ferries Increases Profit By 75%

Stintzis Lines, owner of Blue Star Ferries, announced last month that the ferry line posted a consolidated 9-month profit before taxes that was 75.3% higher when compared with the same first nine-month-period of the year before and reached 3.4 million euros.

Twelve Superfast Ferry Launched

Superfast XII slid gracefully down the slipway of the yard into the waters of the Baltic Sea last month. Attica Enterprises, the holding company for Superfast Ferries, said its newest super-fast vessel is due for delivery from the Flender Werft shipyards in Lubeck, Germany, in...

Terrorism Crisis Hits Greece’s Cruise Industry Hardest, For The Moment

Greece's cruise industry, because a significant portion of its business comes from North American customers, is in for a tough time. Along with this, the industry also has to deal with the possible surge in oil prices, the likelihood of a global recession, the difficulties in air...

Axon Takes Delivery Of Five New Aircraft As It Bids For Olympic Airways

With or without Olympic Airways, Axon Airlines, which has emerged as the frontrunner in a privatization tender for Olympic Airways, intends to grow by leaps and bounds. The two-year-old airline last month took formal delivery of five new aircraft - two Boeing 737-400s and three...

Unique New Cruise Program Out Of Piraeus

As of May 4 next year, Piraeus hosts a new cruise program by Classic International Cruises. The Lisbon-based company, Arcolia Shipping, will run seven-day cruises from here with stops at Ismir, Istanbul, Samothraki, Thessaloniki, Volos, Meteora, Santorini and Mykonos.

Minoan To Place Seven New Vessels In Greek Waters

In less than two years, Crete-based Minoan Lines plans to accept delivery of at least seven new fast-ferry vessels. A number of these vessels are slated for routes to European ports, while others will replace older vessels on basic Greek routes.

Louis Hotels Opens New Zakynthos Unit

The Cypriot-based Louis Group is securing a firm foothold in Greece through buyouts of existing hotels and the construction of new units. Its most recent purchase was the Louis Imperial Beach on Zakynthos, which lies next to the group's Palazzo di Zante and Royal Palace, just 17...

Tall Sailing Ship Runs Greek Island Cruises

As of this summer, the Star Flyer, a tall sailing cruise ship, runs a cruise from Piraeus every Saturday to the islands of Mykonos, Chios, Kusadasi, Patmos, Sifnos and Kea. Its alternate program includes the islands of Hydra, Santorini, Rodos, Bodrum and Paros.

Tourism Organization Continues Inspections

The Hellenic Tourism Organization last month continued its inspections of tourist resorts and businesses around the country. The organization's secretary general, Evgenios Yiannakopoulos, said that in a single week last month 51 inspectors checked 309 hotel units, 139 tourism...

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.

Cavo Tagoo Picks Up Yet Another Award

The first-class Cavo Tagoo hotel on the popular summer holiday island of Mykonos recently picked up yet another award for excellence. The most recent award came from the Greek tourism industry in general. It voted Cavo Tagoo as being the top first-class resort hotel in Greece.