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The Municipality of Alonissos and the periphery of the Ionian Islands recently took part in the five-day “Le Monde a Paris” international tourism exhibition (13/3/08-17/3/08) with positive results. The Municipality of Alonissos, also present at the exhibition last year, had a dynamic presence at this year’s exhibition due to the proactive Mayor of Alonissos Panagiotis Vlaikos who ensured the municipality’s participation in this significant tourism forum as well as in major tourism exhibitions in London, Milan, Sofia and Berlin.

The fifth “Hotel Management Conference on F&B” that took place recently, organized by Action for the Development of Tourism and Tourist Education (DR.A.T.T.E), was a success in highlighting the significance of the F&B (Food and Beverage) sector in the creation of a strong image for our tourism product. During the two-day conference held at the Athens Ledra Marriot an array of speakers provided their views and expertise on the topic.

Greece was the country of honor at the “Borsa Mediterranea Del Turismo” tourism exhibition that took place on 4-6 April at Naples. The aim of the exhibition was to strengthen cooperation and ties between members of the travel industry in Mediterranean countries. As the country of honor, Greece held a press conference within the framework of the exhibition where participants of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) stand presented their respective regions.

The route Heraklion to Piraeus, now some six hours by high-speed ferry, could be done in one hour and 36 minutes by the end of 2008 with the new hovercrafts that can reach 200 kilometers an hour and can ‘fly’ some 12 meters above the sea.

Blue Star Ferries targeted the local communities of the Aegean islands as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program by supporting the non-profit cultural organization “Diadrasi” in the program “Agoni Grammi Gonimi 2008.”

Minister of Mercantile Marine, the Aegean and Island Policy George Voulgarakis recently met with President of the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners Association (HPYOA) Antonis Steliatos to discuss topics concerning the sector and specifically, the development of nautical tourism with professional yachts.

New seaplane carrier Argo Airways (a member of Kanapitsa Group) is expected to commence twice daily flights from the port of Volos to Athen’s Flisvos Marina this month and extend its routes to Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos and Thessaloniki later in the summer.

Mayor of Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis and Mayor of Sofia Boyko Borisov signed a protocol of peace and cooperation between the two cities. The protocol specifies an exchange of information on public sector management between Greece’s capital and the capital of Bulgaria, that is, management of human resources, cultural activities and tourism, youth and athleticism and the protection of the environment.

A recent independent survey conducted in Japan showed Corfu as the second most popular destination for Japanese tourists in 2007 amongst UNESCO world heritage site destinations. Japanese tourists are renowned for picking destinations from UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites, of which Corfu’s old town (pictured) was inscribed on in 2007.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots recently reopened Ledra Street, a major crossing in the divided Cypriot capital of Nicosia. Local officials declared Ledra Street, which stood as a symbol to the island’s partition, open. It was then closed again for a couple of hours by the Greek Cypriots, after what they called an illegal Turkish Cypriot police patrol only to be shortly re-opened on mediation by United Nations officials.