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Travel and tourism, as an industry, has faced pandemics, natural disasters, escalating fuel prices and 9/11 but one of the World Travel Market’s greatest strengths is its ability to mirror the industry in its many moods, said WTM’s Chairman Fiona Jeffery at the tourism fair’s 30th Anniversary VIP Opening at ExCel in London, UK.

It is not rational for marine tourism to be taxed differently than other tourism sectors especially in the time of crisis, Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping Minister Louka Katseli recently said.

Bournemouth University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran recently announced the establishment of “The John Kent Institute in Tourism,” which will be funded through a substantial donation made to the University by tourism entrepreneur, John Kent.

Greece could reap in some one billion euros annually; 14,000 new job positions would open; and the local economies of tourist areas would have a huge increase in income from tourists that arrive to Greek ports by a cruise ship if the cabotage law is lifted, tourism professionals recently agreed.

The necessary route cuts to and from Athens were covered by alliances that Olympic Air secured with other airlines but a similar move was not made for Thessaloniki, which adds to the city’s further aviation isolation, the Professional Chamber of Thessaloniki recently said.

The new distribution platform “Content Inn by Amadeus” has come to Greece to fill the gap in customer demand for quick and easy access to hotel suppliers and other travel services, said Juan Antonio Carrasco, director of markets in Central, Eastern and Southern European (CESE), at a recent presentation in Athens.

The cabotage law that forbids foreign flag cruise ships to homeport in Greece has destroyed Greek cruise, the president of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, Yiorgos Gratsos, recently stressed.

Professionals of the travel industry are getting ready for their “annual appointment” in Thessaloniki to meet up at the 25th International Tourism Exhibition Philoxenia at the end of this month.

Greek shipping recorded a small drop in passenger and freight traffic during the summer period when compared with the same period in 2008, the Ministry of Mercantile Marine, The Aegean and Island Policy recently said.

The 18.3-million euro upgrade projects of the port facilities of the Evia prefecture would have a very positive impact on transport, trade and tourism, the secretary general of Central Greece’s prefecture, Pantelis Sklias, said recently.