Trade Associations

An electronic register of all Greek tourism businesses will be prepared and presented by the end of the year, Tourism Minister Kostas Markopoulos said at a marketing workshop held recently in Chania, Crete, by the Hellenic Hotels Federation.

International arrivals to Greece were reduced close to 10 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same period of 2008, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises.

The Hellenic Association of Airline Representatives (SAAE) recently called for a solution to the continual operational problems of air traffic controlers and underlined that there must be no repeated strikes within the summer.

The revenue of Athens-Attica hotels fell some 20 percent from last year’s January-May period as a result of a 16.6 percent drop in the average hotel occupancy rate and 5.1 percent in the average price per room, according to the latest study of GBR Consulting.

Greece’s long-awaited inclusion in the U.S. visa waiver program is expected to take place by the end of the year, according to negotiations at the recent summit of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that took place on Kerkyra.

While on an official visit to Ankara last month, Tourism Minister Kostas Markopoulos informed his Turkish counterpart, Ertugrul Gunay, of the ministry’s decision to organize the “8th Greek-Turkish Tourism Forum” in October in Greece, with the participation of Greek and Turkish businessmen and tour operators.

Romanian Tourism Minister Elena Udrea recently said that a cruise line between Constanta, Romania, and the Greek islands, to be effective as of this summer, is under consideration.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises recently clarified the confusion created on the use of the terms “tourism revenue” and “turnover index for tourism.”

Azerbaijan’s tourism market offers opportunities for tourism and business partnerships, according to members of the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) who attended a familiarization tour in Azerbaijan on 22-28 June.

Finance Minister Yiannis Papathanasiou recently announced measures to tackle tax dodging in the sector of leisure boats, which caused a negative reaction from the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners Association (EPEST).