Trade Associations

The government’s excuse for lifting the hunting ban in favor of protecting small hotels and related businesses is worthy of mockery, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature recently said in an announcement.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Dimitris Reppas recently announced the cancellation of the tender for the construction and management of the new airport on Crete in the Kastelli area that was introduced by the previous government in 2009.

Complaints made last year by passengers against airline companies dropped 13 percent when compared to 2008, according to data released by the Civil Aviation Authority.

A proposal that involves passenger rights for bus and coach transport was adopted at the European Union Council of Transport Ministers held in December in Brussels. The proposal aims to strengthen the rights of bus and coach passengers that travel on international and long-distance lines.

Five airlines have expressed interest in the tender for the operation of the 24 state-subsidized air routes to remote Greek islands for the period 1 April 2010-31 March 2012.

Following the success of last year’s congress in Thessaloniki for professional and conference tourism, the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers (HAPCO) has announced the 6th Panhellenic Congress and Workshops entitled “Managing Change in the Meetings Industry.”

Greek and foreign visitors to Athens from now on will get “pointed in the right direction” thanks to the new Athens Infopoint that has opened on the ground floor of the entertainment store Public at Syntagma Square.

Athens hotel bookings have been in “free fall” as of December 2008, which translates to a 12 percent decrease up until September 2009 and an eight percent drop in the average price per room, stressed the President of the Athens-Attica Hotel Association Yiannis Retsos at the association’s 40th Annual General Assembly.

Greece has a “tough” currency and increased labor costs while images recently released have been devastating for the country’s tourism: fires, terrorism attacks, prison escapes and battle scenes on the streets of Athens, stressed Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos at the 20th Greek Economy Conference of the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.

Greek Prime Minister Yiorgos Papandreou and Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos last month announced the responsibilities assigned to Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Angela Gerekou.