Tour Operators & Travel Agencies

“Tour operators and travel agencies need to modernize their way of operation and provide high quality services and specialized products in a responsible and professional manner,” Yiorgos Telonis, president of Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) said in late January at the official launch of “EOS CODE,” the European Code of Practice on Environment Oriented Sustainability.

Greece’s tourism industry recently expressed concerns in regards to the tremendous impact the near-bankruptcy of British tour operator Thomas Cook Group would have had on the Greek tourism market.

“In recent months, one of the reasons we got into this situation was the misinformation and the fact that markets made reckless movements without taking data and results under consideration,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos told US business TV channel CNBC last month.

Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis met with seven leading Russian tour operators last month and discussed further actions to boost the upward trend of Russian visits to Greece.

“Amadeus Hellas will continue to support travel professionals in every possible way in order to enable the success in their business efforts,” General Manager Amadeus Hellas Eva Karamanou told GTP during a specially designed one-day seminar for travel agencies organized for the first time in Athens, Greece, by global distribution system provider Amadeus.

In recent years the phenomenon of illegal tours organized by travel agencies has increased rapidly and essentially has abolished the tour guide profession, according to the Association of Professional Tour Guides of Crete-Santorini.

“We are committed to plan attractive tour packages of Byzantine travel for everyone,” Travel Plan’s managing director Giorgos Daskalakis said last month during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Holy Archdiocese of Athens’ Mission charity organization.

Greece is among the eight Member States that were referred to the European Union’s Court of Justice for failing to properly implement E.U. VAT rules for travel agents, the European Commission announced in late January.

Heronia Travel S.A. announced last month that it has joined the “Strongest Companies of Greece” community, according to the rating score of ICAP Group.

Kavaliero Viajes last month announced a deal with Astra Airlines for scheduled flights to Paphos, Cyprus, directly from Thessaloniki as of 4 March.