Destinations

Athens experienced a 4.67 percent decrease in international arrivals in September compared to the same month in 2010, according to recent figures released by the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Eight Greek coasts that had been honored with the quality “Blue Flag” award in June were dropped last month from the 2011 list, according to the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature.
Inspections revealed that coastal managers had failed to maintain the required cleanliness of the beaches, protect the environment and provide the necessary services to bathers.

Greece this year fell another seven places in the rankings of 142 countries from 83rd place to 90th in the Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, released by the World Economic Forum last month.
Greece remains the lowest-ranked country of the European Union and is below Georgia and Lebanon and many African and Balkan countries.

“Gay and lesbian tourists, who for years flocked to the islands of Mykonos and Lesbos, have removed Greece from their list of favorite destinations because of discrimination,” a survey by …

“The winter season is expected to be extremely difficult, not only for Athens but for all Greek destinations that operate year round,” Yiannis Retsos, president of the Athens-Attica Hotel Association, said last month in regards to the Greek capital’s summer bookings.

“In Athens we have a problem, it is the black hole of our tourism and this is where we must focus our full attention in the coming year,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said during an interview last month.

The Cyclades Development Company has launched a promotion campaign of the Cyclades islands in Norway and other Scandinavian countries, to increase arrivals in 2012, in collaboration with the Hellenic Travel and Trade Center that operates in Oslo, Norway.

“It seems that there are few places in the world where time stands still—but this is one of those rare refuges,” the US monthly travel magazine Smithsonian said in its recent edition in regards to the Greek island of Santorini.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry last month launched a series of events in an attempt to revitalize the Greek capital city’s center and attract Athenians to areas that are usually difficult to visit, Greek press reports said.

The Piraeus Traders Association last month called for the Greek Government to deal with the constant increase in petty theft crimes aimed at tourists.
In a letter to the Culture and Tourism and Citizen Protection Ministers, Pavlos Geroulanos and Christos Papoutsis respectively, the association said petty theft and muggings are thriving on the Athens Piraeus Electric Railways (ISAP).