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Greek breakfast will be established in all hotels of the country as a start of the promotion of Greek cuisine as one of the most key representative forms of Greek tourism, Hellenic Chamber of Hotels representative, Yiorgos Pittas, said recently.

The Mediterranean diet’s placement on the list of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage opens horizons not only for the broadcasting of Greece’s local culture and traditions but also for the surfacing of Greek products and local food of the islands and regions, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said in a recent press release.

“I am convinced that the Central, Eastern and Southern European region is living exponential times,” Juan Antonio Carrasco, Amadeus’ director of CESE markets, said at the launch and the closing of the Amadeus CESE e-Commerce Leaders Forum 2010 that recently took place in Sophia Antipolis on the French Riviera.

The development of diving tourism is one of the top priorities of the Culture and Tourism Ministry within the framework of promoting alternative forms of tourism, Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis said at the “Biodiversity and Diving Tourism in the Greek Seas” conference held in Athens in late November.

Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis presented significant opportunities provided for cruise tourism and investments in Greek port projects, following the lifting of cabotage restrictions (currently in process by the Greek government), last month at the 8th Seatrade Med Cruise Convention in Cannes, France.

“The permanent return of the Parthenon marbles to the new Acropolis Museum remains the steadfast demand of the Greek state and of the Culture Ministry,” a Culture and Tourism Ministry spokesman told the Greek media last month while rejecting a report of UK newspaper “The Times” that suggested Greece was dropping its claim over the Parthenon marbles.

“Everyone visiting the museums in the future will receive the best service,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos promised recently as he outlined the ministry’s three-year plan to upgrade services to archaeological sites and museums.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry’s aim is to create an international conference center in the Tae Kwon Do facility and establish Athens as a potential destination for international conferences every month of the year, according to a press release of the ministry.

The tourism sector in Greece may have saw rough times last year as a result of the global economic crisis but global distribution system (GDS) provider Travelport Greece says it is “a strong believer in the future of Greek tourism.

The 26th Philoxenia International Tourism Exhibition, held this year on 18-21 November at Helexpo in Thessaloniki, roughly hosted 500 exhibitors from Greece and 12 other countries (Egypt, Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ghana, India, Cyprus, Russia, Serbia, Syria, Turkey, and Tunisia).