Event News

The Cyclades Prefecture held a five-day exhibition last month at the Syntagma Square metro station in Athens and gave commuters a mini-vacation prior to the start of the summer tourism season.

The lifting of cabotage restrictions should take place immediately following a dialogue with all agencies involved until the end of May, Prime Minister Yiorgos Papandreou announced during the recent 18th general assembly of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Greece is experiencing the most painful effects of the economic crisis but tourism could offer a way out, Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Angela Gerekou stressed last month at the Informal Meeting of Tourism Ministers in Madrid, Spain.

Greece is up against a great crisis but is not hiding, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos assured during his visit to the 2010 New York Times Travel Show that took place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York on February 26-28.

The global economic crisis is not the only side to blame for the current situation of Greek tourism, Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) President Argyro Fili said during the association’s general assembly last month.

“The Athens Convention Bureau’s aim is to highlight Greece’s image in the convention market and soon see the country among the top ten conference markets worldwide,” said the bureau’s director George Angelis during a workshop held last month during the 6th IMIC in Athens.

Greece cannot be considered a luxury spa destination as Greek spas currently have no specific identification and hotels that promote themselves as spa resorts do not maintain proper standards, according to the “2nd Wellness Fit & Spa Meeting Day” held last month in Athens.

Athens International Airport (AIA) awarded airlines that recorded the highest passenger development in 2009, a very challenging year for the global industry, during the 10th Airline Marketing Workshop held last month.

Although the Greek market represents only one percent of the total number of international guests that reside an average of three nights in Monaco hotels, it is believed that many more Greek travelers would catch the opportunity to come to Monaco in the near future, according to Michel Bouquier, president of the Tourism and Convention Authority for the Principality of Monaco.

The first meeting of the mayors of Athens, marks the beginning of one of the most appealing efforts of the organization World of Athens, said the organization’s President Tatiana Karapanagioti at a special event held within the context of the 1st Athens Mayors Meeting at Athens City Hall recently.