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Amadeus Hellas has outperformed in Greece and Cyprus every year for the last three years, marking record growth levels in the travel industry market.

For Greece to become a more attractive tourism destination, investment must be oriented to improving quality of life by combining the uniqueness of the Greek lifestyle experience with the standards and values created by global community, says the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE).

The first International Tourism Salon (ITS) – Athens 2006 will be held November 30 through December 3 at the Piraeus Port Authority Center (OLP).

For the first time in its 45-year history, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) will hold its annual meetings in Greece at the Sofitel Capsis Hotel and “Marika Capsis 2000” Center on Rodos.

Making Greece an international cruise hub for the eastern Mediterranean would bring five million tourists in a few years and tremendous financial returns were the main conclusion drawn from the forum organized by the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) on world tourism day.

Bid proposals for Minoan Lines’ 33.3 percent share in Hellenic Seaways (HSW) were the buzz on the coastal shipping market last month. Proposals have been submitted by ship-owner Panos Laskaridis (Laskaridis Group) who already controls 17 percent of HSW, Apostolos Ventouris of Nel Lines, and Anek Lines. At press time, Minoan was still in the process of reviewing the offers. So far the highest offer has been made by Nel Lines at 3.5 euro per share for the 25 million shares up for sale. Anek Lines officially announced that it is prepared to pay 3.2 euro per share, while the Laskaridis Group has offered 2.95 euro per share.

Last month, Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium stopped into the port of Piraeus while on a cruise of the Mediterranean. This ship, inaugurated in 2000, has a capacity for 1,950 guests.

Athens will host next year’s City Break exhibition, and European Cities Tourism’s (ECT) annual conference, which is also the sponsor of the exhibition.

For the first time, a cultural and heritage tourism conference will be held at the Philoxenia tourism fair, November 16-19. Holding a conference during the popular and well-attended Philoxenia fair trade show is a new concept being promoted by Helexpo, the fair organizer, and the Alexandreion Technological Education Institute of Thessaloniki.

Greece is aiming to be one of the top five tourism destinations, said Tourism Minister Fani Palli-Petralia, at the first forum organized by the Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce & Development. The minister added that “this is an achievable goal since the country is ranked 15th while studies show that it is only using 15 percent of its tourism potential.”