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Travel technology provider Worldspan is reaping the rewards of its investment program in the Greek travel industry market with further agency wins and several new product introductions over the past several months.

After the initial signing of a cooperation agreement between Amadeus Hellas and Business Travel International early this year, Amadeus quickly began to its new front office system and its Amadeus Vista within the BTI offices in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Work on the road and the site has made the Marathon archaeological site unrecognizable as it undergoes refurbishment. As for the museum within the site, scheduled to be ready in June, work has begun on the walkways and planting is in progress.

The world’s largest international travel fair, ITB Berlin, continues to break attendance records — the 121,000 visitors were some 10,000 more than last year — and exhibitor records. A total of 10,023 exhibitors from 178 countries and territories, representing every sector of the international tourism industry, attended ITB 2004.

The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is not only about statistics, it is much more, providing concrete proof that tourism is one of the most important economic sectors and, thus, indispensable in today’s world.

Air Sea Lines SA, incorporated in Athens late last year, announced last month that it is ready to provide seaplane scheduled, “for hire” and charter passenger services connecting multiple island and coastal harbors within Greece.

The International Tourism Exchange ITB Berlin 2004, which will take place from 12 to 16 March on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds and in the International Congress Center ICC Berlin, represents every aspect of the value-added chain in the international tourism industry.

Visitors to this year’s tourism fair Touristiko Panorama get the first glimpse of “Olympic Greece” and also get the chance to form initial impressions on the tourism dimension of the greatest challenge facing the country in modern times.

In late January, Festival Cruises (of Greek-Italian interests) was broiled in talks with creditors in an attempt to reverse a decision to auction off its three recently acquired cruise ships — the Mistral, European Vision and European Star. In mid February, Festival announced its Flamenco cruise vessel had been sold for $12.25 million and that similar deals were in the fire for the vessels Azur and Bolero. The Gibraltar authorities were holding the three vessels after petitions by creditors.

After the sale of four of its first-generation super-fast ferry vessels, Attica Enterprises reportedly has its eyes on foreign shipyards for the construction of new vessels within the framework of a new investment program. This time, however, the new vessels concern its coastal shipping subsidiary, Blue Star Ferries, rather than Superfast Ferries, say press reports.