January 2003

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
The Greek travel industry, which has been struggling to overcome the fallout from the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States and a still sluggish global economy, received another shock of during the Christmas holidays with the financial collapse of Manos, one of Greece's best known travel agencies.
The incident received extensive coverage in the media, largely because of the holiday news void. Although the number of people adversely affected by the agency's sudden closure was small compared to the total number of its bookings, the airtime devoted to the story created a negative impression of travel agencies among viewers.
The incident was unfortunate - and the inconvenience to those travellers affected by the agency's collapse is most regrettable. But Greek tour operators cannot afford to brush aside consumers' concerns or sit back because the incident does not affect their individual business. The entire Greek travel industry needs to take a broader look at what happened.
The Manos case will not have an effect on foreign tourism, but could have an impact on domestic travellers, whether they seek to book a holiday in Greece or a holiday abroad. Thus it is vital that Greek travel agents and tour operators - as well as everyone in the travel industry - work together to restore Greeks' confidence in the sector.
The Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents (ΗΑΤΤΑ) has taken a very important first step in this direction. Yiannis Evangelou, the association's president, has emphasized the need for an immediate restructuring of the institutional framework governing the operation of tourist agencies aimed to protect the consumer from such unfortunate events.
ΗΑΤΤΑ's concern is not new. As the association has frequently pointed out, a large part of the problem stems from the lack of adequate controls to monitor unlicensed operators who usually advertise excursions and other travel products through churches and community associations or simply by posting notices on telephone poles. Clamping down on unlicensed activity is especially important in light of the 2004 Olympics, when a handful of bad experiences could offset the long-term tourism benefits from hosting the Games.
ΗΑΤΤΑ has also called for a more stringent application of European Union directive 314/90, which was adopted into Greek law under Presidential Decree 339/96. Under this directive, the state is required to provide guarantees, either through special insurance or bank warranties, to protect consumers from tour operator bankruptcies. The Presidential Decree also provides for consumer protection through the creation of a special, common fund to cover such emergencies. Although it has been seven years since the statute was entered into Greek law - and thirteen years since the EU directive was issued - this fund has yet to be created.
Direct state involvement in providing consumer guarantees is required if the law is to be applied in letter and in spirit. ΗΑΤΤΑ has also suggested that if the state is unwilling or unable to fill this role, this responsibility should be transferred to the tour operators. Such systems have been applied in the Netherlands and in Britain.
Everyone in the Greek travel industry knows what needs to be done. How this should be achieved is open to discussion, but this debate must be concluded swiftly and decisions put into practice to minimize the negative effects on the tourism sector.

Hellenic Travelling

SETE PRESENTS 2002 YEAR-END TOURISM REVIEW, 2003 OUTLOOK
The coming year is expected to be an even tougher year for tourism given the current uncertainty over the likelihood, duration, and effects of a U.S. intervention in Iraq as well as slowness in the economic rebound, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).
At a news conference called to present SETE's outlook for 2003, the association's chairman Stavros Andreadis said that the projected economic rebound in OECD countries was slower than had been predicted, and that the German economy - an important market for Greek tourism - was still in a slump. He also pointed out that the experiences of Barcelona and Sidney, hosts respectively of the 1992 and 2000 Olympics, had shown a drop in tourist arrivals during the year immediately preceding the year during the Games were being held. Given that we are aware of this, he said, it is inexcusable that we are not doing anything to counter this trend. He added that to offset this tendency, SETE believed it necessary for Greece to triple its tourism promotion budget this year.
During the news conference, Andreadis also presented a year-end review of the 2002 tourist season, but said it was pointless to rehash the factors that have had a negative effect on tourism. Andreadis questioned how the Greek National Tourism Organization could speak of an increase in overall revenues from tourism while reporting a five per cent reduction in tourist arrivals and room nights.
The SETE chairman also expressed the group's concern about the continuous delays in bringing the new law on development to Parliament.

NORTHERN GREEK OPERATORS MINGLE AT RECEPTION
The Union of Tour Operators in Macedonia-Thrace held a reception shortly before the Christmas holidays as a gesture of appreciation for its members' support of the board's activities. The reception was an opportunity for members to mingle and bond, as well as to pay express their gratitude to the sponsors who have provided financial support for the Union's activities.
Shown in the commemorative photo of the sponsors taken at the reception are: Triantafyllos Ferelis (Goldair); Georgios Karadimitris (executive officer); Dimitris Mantousis (general secretary); Vassilios Papadopoulos (Aegean Airlines); Anastasios Anastasiadis (board member); Loucas Tsakiridis (ROC); Haido Kafadari (board member); Mr. Anon (Thai Airways); Constantinos Zirpiadis (board member); Grigoris Kounis (InterAmerican); Ioannis Apostolopoulos (board member); Leonidas Zotos (Worldspan); Vyron Theologis (treasurer); Yiannis Hatzimarkou (Cyprus Airways); Panayotis Bamidis (chairman); and, Mr. Antonaros (Cyprus Airways).

SETE TO HOST CONFERENCE ON TOURIST DEVELOPMENT
SETE, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, will host the second conference on issues related to the tourism sector this month. The topic of this year's conference will be “Tourism and Development”.
The conference will be held on February 11 at the Astir Palace Hotel in Vouliagmeni. Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos will address the opening, while main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the conference dinner. Sessions will focus on the role of tourism in development and employment policies and trends in the airline industry and their effect on Greek tourism.

YEAR STARTS WITH EXPRO 2003
The new year got off to a strong start with the 10th international Expro, a five-day trade show for companies involved in the hotel and restaurant fixtures and fittings sector.
Over 300 companies, representing Greece and 30 other countries, had booths at the show, which attracted over 30,000 visitors from Greece, the Balkans, and the Middle East.
The trade show, which opened on January 23, closed with the customary drawing for hotel equipment worth 12,000 euros shared among four lucky winners.

SOFITEL ATHENS AIRPORT CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY
The Sofitel Athens Airport recently celebrated its first anniversary with a birthday party in the hotel's Callisto lounge. One of 152 properties worldwide that belong to the Accor Group, the Sofitel Athens Airport has 345 rooms and recorded a 45.5 per cent average occupancy rate in its first year. The hotel processed more than 58,000 arrivals, with average stays of 1.1 nights, and hosted over 30,000 people in its conference facilities.

ΗΑΤΤΑ CALLS FOR MEASURES TO PROTECT CONSUMERS
Greek tour operators are calling for measures aimed at protecting consumers who purchase travel products, emphasizing that such guarantees are a prerequisite for the healthy growth and development of the tourism sector and the travel industry.
The Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents (ΗΑΤΤΑ), in a statement sent to the media, expressed its regret at the financial collapse of Manos Travel, a well-known Greek tour operator, shortly before Christmas.
In its statement, ΗΑΤΤΑ said that the story had received disproportionate attention by the media, perhaps because of the dearth of news during the holiday period. It said that the incident had raised questions about the effectiveness of the institutional framework that governs tour operators.
Christmas travel represents roughly 25 per cent of annual travel by Greeks, as between 50,000 and 70,000 travellers book Christmas or New Year's holiday packages. ΗΑΤΤΑ estimates that one-quarters of the estimated 800 travellers who booked packages through Manos were left stranded by the tour operator's bankruptcy.

ALEXANDER BEACH HOTEL ΤΟ REOPEN ΙΝ APRIL
After being closed for extensive renovations, the Alexander Beach Hotel in Anavyssos will reopen its doors to guests in April at a gala opening.
The 108-room hotel is located at the 47th kilometer of the Athens-Sounion road, close to the famed temple and just 14 kilometers from the new Athens international airport.
All rooms have air conditioning and are equipped with television set, hairdryer, radio, and direct-dial telephone. The hotel's facilities include an Olympic-sized swimming pool, poolside bar, private beach, water sports facilities, restaurant, coffee shop, tennis courts, mini football, playground, disco, mini-market, and conference facilities for up to 300 people. For information call 22910-80100-7.

TRAVEL PLAN AT PHILOXENIA
Development Undersecretary Dimitris Georgakopoulos was among dignitaries who visited the Eurostar S.Α./Travel Plan booth at the 18th international tourism expo, Philoxenia, last fall.
Eurostar/Travel Plan, one of Greece's largest tour operators, was represented at the trade expo by Travel Plan; Triaena Travel, which specializes in air and sea charters; and Cruise Plan, which specializes in cruises and marine tourism. At the show, Travel Plan presented its special packages to Disneyland-Paris and Club Med packages.

EDUCATION 2003 TO BE HELD IN MARCH
Education 2003, the fifth annual trade show on education, will be held at the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) March 20-23.
The fair highlights educational opportunities and institutions in a complete range of disciplines and academic levels.

ΕΟΤ MAKES PRESENCE FELT AT TRAVEL SHOWS
The Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) hit the ground running in 2003, with its participation in 25 travel shows in 14 countries in January, plus two more shows in Athens, Expo (January 23-27) and Xenia (January 24-27).
ΕΟΤ had booths at two shows in Germany, two in Great Britain, three in the Netherlands, four in Austria, two in Switzerland, and one each in Norway, Finland, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Ireland, France, Denmark, Belgium, and Spain.

FESTIVAL CRUISES TO HELP GALICIA CLEAN-UP
Festival Cruises has announced that it would donate one euro per passenger in 2003 to help clean up the oil spill off the Galicia coast in northern Spain caused by the tanker Prestige.
The company estimates its reservations for the year will hit the 300,000 mark.
Festival Cruises will also offer 50 free cruises to the families that have suffered the most severe damage from the oil spill.

SCHOLARSHIP FOR HOTEL MANAGEMENT
The winner of the 2003 scholarship for studies in hotel management offered by the Association of Women in Tourism will be announced in early February.
The deadline for applications was January 30. Eligible applicants must be under 22 years old and have some personal or family involvement in the travel or tourism sectors. Candidates for the two-year scholarship must be high school graduates, have a First Certificate in English, and a working knowledge of either French or German.

ΕΟΤ CIRCULATES GERMAN TOUR OPERATOR LIST
The Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) has published its annual list of German tour operators who offer holiday packages in Greece. Entitled, Griechenland 2003-Magie der Viefalt, the 88-page booklet is a detailed directory of the 134 German operators who organized tours to Greece, as well as a catalogue of 21 German airports with direct flights to Greek airports.
The booklet also contains practical information for German travellers; 70,000 copies were distributed through ΕΟΤ branch offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich.

AUTO LEASE MOVES TO NEW PREMISES
Auto Lease Α.Ε. has relocated its main office to new premises at 34-36 Leoforos Eleftherias in the Alimos-Kalamaki suburbs south of Athens.
The company's new telephone number is 210.98.85.260.

100TH SETRA TOPCLASS 400 COACH SOLD
Setra TopClass 400 has sold its one thousandth coach, only eighteen months after its market launch. The vehicle was sold to the German tour operator Hock/Main-Spessart Reisen, which has ordered five coaches from the Setra range.

FESTIVAL CRUISES, HILTON JOIN FORCES
Festival Cruises and Hilton International have teamed up to offer tourists a package that combines the signature Festival holidays with Hilton's first-class hospitality tourists first-class hospitality under the Hilton Floating Resort on Festival Cruises program.
These holidays, first launched on the cruise line's "Premium" ships, will be available for destinations in the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, northern Europe, and the Caribbean in 2003.
Hilton Floating resort feature private suites with private balconies, as well as special check-in and check-out service.
"The fact that a large corporation like Hilton wants to expend into our sector by offering a type of holiday for which demand is continuously increasing marks the start of a new era for cruises," said Georgios Poulidis, the cruise company's president. He added that the partnership with Festival Cruises provided the Hilton chain with the best possible entry into the cruise sector.

ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL TREATS KIDS TO “COOKIES OF LOVE”
The Athenaeum InterContinental turned its ballroom over to children aged between 8 and 12 years who wanted to be chefs for a day.
More than 200 youngsters from seven Athens-area schools donned chef's hats and aprons in December to help the hotel's sixty chefs bake “cookies of love” to be distributed to various children's homes during the holidays.
This was the second year the charitable event was hosted by the Athenaeum InterContinental. This year, cookbook author Ilias Mamalakis joined professional and junior chefs.

GREECE PROPOSES BALKAN TOURISM AUTHORITY
Yiannis Patellis, head of the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) presented a proposal by Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos for a Balkan tourism commission at the Tourism Development Conference organized in Sofia in early January.
Patellis also held talks with Bulgarian, Turkish, and Romanian tourism officials on the sidelines of the conference.

POSEIDON RESORT JOINS 2004 OFFICIAL NETWORK
Hotel Poseidon Resort is undergoing massive renovations valued at six million euros aimed at upgrading its amenities for the 2004 Olympic Games to be held in Athens.
The hotel is a member of the official hospitality network for the Athens Games.
Renovations include creation of luxury suites, complete renovation of forty “superior” bungalows, construction of a fourth swimming pool, and extension of the resort's sports facilities and health spa.

GREEK HOLIDAY FOR HOSTAGE KIDS
Eleven children held hostage by terrorists during the attack on the Nord-Ost Theatre in Moscow were guests of the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) and Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos for eight days in January.
The children stayed at the Astir Palace Hotel in Vouliagmeni. Their itinerary included a recital at the Athens Concert Hall, visits to the Acropolis and Benaki Museum in Athens, a one-day cruise of the Saronic isles, and an excursion to Mycenae and Epidaurus.
Tsohatzopoulos invited the children to visit Greece as guests of the government during a meeting with Russian Deputy Development Minister, Vladimir Strezialkovski during the Philoxenia trade show.

DAEDALUS AWARDS PRESENTED TO YOUNG INVENTORS
Students at the 1st Mytilene ΤΕΕ won the first prize in the annual Daedalus competition for their tent construction. Second prize was awarded to the 1st SEK-6th Athens ΤΕΕ for a remote-guided motion detector and third prize was awarded to the 5th SEK-3rd Ilion ΤΕΕ for a test boiler.
The awards were presented at the Technopolis Center in Athens on November 24. The competition is named after the legendary craftsman and inventor who built the Minotaur's labyrinth on Crete. It is sponsored by the ΕΡΕΑΕΚ vocational training program, the National Youth Foundation, and Education Ministry, and is organized by iForce Communications in cooperation with Plotin Travel. The finalists were chosen among competitors in regional competitions held in early November in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Iraklio, Rhodes, Kozani, Orestiada, Ioannina, Kalamata, Larissa, and Halkida.
The judges' panel included writer Andonis Samarakis, Lazaros Efremoglou, president of the Foundation for the Hellenic World, and Athens University professor Giorgos Kalkanis.
The Daedalus program was launched last year and is financed with funds from the EU's Community Support Framework. Its aim is to foster creativity and inventiveness among students and teachers.

HATTA CALLS FOR CHANGE IN TOUR OPERATOR REGULATIONS
The Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents (ΗΑΤΤΑ) has emphasized the need for an immediate change to the laws governing the operation of tour operators.
Yiannis Evangelou, ΗΑΤΤΑ's president, said in a statement that “the phenomenon of illegal activities in the travel sector and the antiquated and inadequate legal framework [governing these activities] is the true problem and not the isolated incident of the consequences from the financial collapse of the well-known Manos travel agency - which, with the proper legal framework, could have been averted”.
Regarding illegal activity, Evangelou said that a weak oversight mechanism rendered it impossible to estimate the precise number of unlicensed firms and individuals involved with organizing tours “but that their number is believed to be quite large”.
ΗΑΤΤΑ noted that under European Union directive 314/90, which was adopted at the EU-level in 1990, the state was obliged to provide for consumers in the event of a tour operator's bankruptcy and that Article 7 of the directive said the state had an obligation to ensure that tour operators had sufficient insurance to cover customers' return in case of bankruptcy or other breach of credibility.
It said that the directive, which was adopted into Greek law in 1996, provided for the creation of a common insurance fund for such emergencies, but that this had yet to be implemented.
ΗΑΤΤΑ represents more than 1,500 travel agents and tour operators in Greece. It is a member of European Travel and Tour Operators Association (ECTAA) and the Universal Federation of Travel Agents' Associations (UFTAA). The group organizes training seminars and other activities, and publishes the members' magazine Syndesmos.

GNTO ORGANIZES PANELS ON CONVENTION TOURISM
Seminars on convention tourism were held in Patras and Corfu in January, organized by the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ).
Featured speakers at both seminars were Caroline Dow, head of sales and marketing for the Scottish Convention Bureau, and Debbie Jackson of ΕΙΒΤΜ/Reed Exhibitions. Dow spoke on the “basic operating principles of a convention bureau based on the Scottish model,” while Jackson presented an overview of the convention and incentive travel market.
The Patras meeting was also addressed by Yiannis Evangelou, president of the Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents and Ρ. Argyros, head of the ΕΟΤ office in London.
ΕΟΤ plans to organize similar panels on Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kos, as well as in Halkidiki.
Meantime, Tom Nutley, another Reed Exhibitions executive, was the guest speaker at a separate international conference on the prospects of convention travel. The talk was organized by ΕΟΤ during the Xenia trade show on January 22.

SMEs APPROVED FOR FUNDING
More than 1,428 proposals have been approved for funding under a Development Ministry program aimed supporting efforts by small and medium-sized enterprises in the hospitality sector to improve and upgrade services.
Funds for the “Competitiveness” program are being provided through the Community Support Framework ΙΙΙ.
Projects approved to date total 60,535 million euros; 1,313 applications totalling 57,603 million euros are for modernizing small hotels and hostels.
Evaluation of the second group of applications has already begun.
Meantime, the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) will begin accepting a second round of applications in February for funding under the “Competitiveness” programs that spread and establish the Greek cuisine.

SOUVENIR EXPO IN CRETE, RHODES
Over 150 exhibitors participated in trade shows for tourist souvenirs and gift items organized by Alpha Ekthesiaki in January on Crete and on Rhodes.
An estimated 7,000 visitors perused the displays of folk art, crafts, faux bijoux, tourist guides, maps, beach accessories, and other items.

FAST BOAT TO CHANIA
Blue Star Ferries will add the Blue Star 2 to the Chania-Piraeus line as from March 3.
Built in 2000, the boat will complete the crossing in just 5 hours and 45 minutes. It has a capacity of 1,600 passengers and 700 cars or 150 trucks and 100 cars.
Blue Star 2 will leave from Piraeus for Chania at 4 p.m. and from Chania for Piraeus at 11:30 p.m. daily.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZER SAYS LAW ‘OUTDATED’
Greek laws on conference tourism and trade shows are outdated and should be revised to improve Greece's competitiveness, the head of the Association of Greek Exhibition and Conference Organizers said.
In an interview on the GBC show “Business and Travel”, Tasos Koumanis emphasized the need for a new legal framework for conference tourism to replace antiquated statutes on merchant bazaars that date from the 1920s.
He also reminded the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) of its repeated commitments to create a Convention Bureau for Greece's main cities.

HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES AT NJV ATHENS PLAZA
Constantinos Zarikos, general manager of NJV Athens Plaza, and sales director Angeliki Vasilakopoulou hosted a reception in December for representatives of the tourism industry in Athens.

GOVERNMENT TO SEEK MANOS INQUIRY
Development Undersecretary Dimitris Georgakopoulos has said that a judicial inquiry would be conducted into the bankruptcy of the Manos Travel, one of the best-known tour operators in Greece.
He said the purpose of the investigation would be to determine possible legal responsibility from the case as well as to safeguard the interests of the operator's clients who were the innocent victims of the case.
Following an emergency meeting of the General Secretariat for Tourism, Georgakopoulos said branch offices of the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) abroad would be notified and instructed to facilitate stranded travellers.

HOTELIERS HOLD CONTACTS WITH GOVERNMENT
The newly installed board of the Union of Athens Hoteliers (ΕΧΑ) has begun the year by holding a series of meetings with key government officials in the tourism sector.
The hoteliers' contacts began with the General Secretary of the Development Ministry, who committed to expediting a ministerial decision on supporting hotels in Β Class or lower. The ΕΧΑ officers also pressed their case for the creation of loading space in front of hotels to facilitate guests and tour groups.
The hoteliers also met with the head of the Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ), Yiannis Patellis. They expressed their concern about Greece's weak advertising presence in tourist markets and emphasized the need for intense promotion in light of the uncertainty about the 2003 season. The ΕΧΑ president also emphasized the need for a centralized promotion campaign.
Patellis and the hoteliers agreed to a hold a follow-up meeting to exchange ideas and proposals in this area.
The new ΕΧΑ board concluded its first round of contacts by meeting with Development Undersecretary Dimitris Georgakopoulos, who assured the hoteliers that he would expend every possible effort to resolve a range of issues, including the reintroduction of a bus link between the Spata airport and Omonia in central Athens.
Other issues rose by the hoteliers that Georgakopoulos promised to act on include smoothing labor regulations on hotel overtime and developing forms of alternative tourism.

’GREEK NEWS’ IN JAPAN PAPER
Α four-page insert of “Greek News” highlighted travel destinations and sights in the Greek capital and the greater Athens area where published with the December 2002 issue of the Japanese magazine Travel Journal.
The publicity insert was part of a Greek National Tourism Organization (ΕΟΤ) campaign to increase the number of Japanese tourists visiting Greece.

NEW GUIDES’ ASSOCIATION BOARD
Aspa Lakafosi has assumed the chairman's seat on the board of the Association of Licensed Tour Guides. The other members of the board are: Maria Zisimou, vice president; Maria-Dafni Mavrelli, general-secretary; Elena Gaitani, treasurer; and, members Popi Alexopoulou, Apostolos Vaniotis, Eleni Dimitrakopoulou, Mihalis Pavlopoulos, and Roula Skoula.

GREECE’S ‘BIG FAT’ TOURIST PROMOTION
The Greek National Tourism Organization has decided to capitalize on the success of the sleeper hit “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” starring Nia Vardalos in an unusual promotional campaign in Conde Nast's Modern Bride magazine.
ΕΟΤ will distribute free copies of the movie in DVD format with the magazine, tied in to a sweepstakes for magazine readers.
The Modern Bride promotion is part of a series of advertising and promotional campaigns by ΕΟΤ in the United States. These include its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Travel Show held in Long Beach, California, in early February.

GREECE TO PUSH FOR COMMON TOURISM STRATEGIES
The Greek Presidency of the European Union will actively work towards forging a common tourism strategy among European Union member-states, Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said n a speech outlining his ministry's priorities during the six months in which Greece holds the EU's rotating presidency.
He said that the framework for such a strategy had been created by the European Council that had adopted a series of goals, such as the establishment of an “Agenda 21” for tourism.
He added that the Greek Presidency's goals in this area included fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors through an annual tourism forum, promoting common cooperation networks, stepping up efforts to facilitate handicapped travellers.

AEGEAN AIRLINES EYES OPERATING PROFITS
Aegean Airlines expects to post operating profits for the first time since the company was founded three years ago and one year after its merger with Cronus Airlines. It said it expects to record a marginal operating profit of roughly two million euros before depreciation.
Α company statement that turnover in 2002 was expected to be in excess of 205 million euros, more than twice the previous year. At the same time, the company has managed to reduce operating costs by eight per cent over 2001.
Productivity per employee in 2002 exceeded the level of 2,000 passengers - a rate that the company says is totally competitive with the European market.
In 2002, the company employed an average 1,205 people to operate its fleet of 16 aircraft, of which four are chartered to tour operators serving 40 destinations in Germany, Italy, England, France, and Israel. The company executed 35,000 flights in 2002 and transported 2.42 million passengers, having gained a 45 per cent market share on domestic destinations that it flies to.

GREEK, TURKISH AGENTS TO COOPERATE
ΗΑΤΤΑ, the Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents, and its Turkish counterpart TURSAB have reached an agreement to form four committees to discussed common issues in the tourism sector. The agreement was reached during a recent meeting of ΗΑΤΤΑ and TURSAB officers in Istanbul.
The committees will focus on: institutional issues and European Union programs; developing tourism from third countries; issues related to air travel; and, vocational training and education.

ATTICA HOTELIERS EMPHASIZES NEED FOR AGGRESSIVE ADVERTISING
Hoteliers in the greater Athens area have called for an aggressive advertising campaign highlighting tourist sights and leisure activities in the capital in order to bolster tourism.
ΕΧΑ cited the total lack of any promotion for Attica, saying campaigns should be devised to promote the city as a destination for weekend breaks, shopping trips, or other forms of travel such as conferences and conventions.
Reviewing preliminary data from the 2002 season, the Union of Attica Hoteliers (ΕΧΑ) expressed its hopes that the drop in occupancy rates will be less than four per cent over 2001 - a year in which occupancy rates were also down compared to the previous year.
Attica's hoteliers said aggressive marketing was essential in the first couple of months of the year when large, international trade shows set the travel trends for the coming year. They added that that the Greek tourism sector was under pressure from cheaper destinations.
ΕΧΑ also called on the government to respond to hoteliers' demands aimed at improving services and facilities. These include zoning for loading space in front of hotels in downtown Athens, changes in the law on overtime pay for hotel employees, and more frequent police patrols at tourist sights.
In the statement, the hotel owners and operators said 2005 would be the critical year for the recovery of the hospitality sector and Greek tourism. ΕΧΑ noted that a factor which could affect this was how visitor accommodations were handled during the 2004 Olympic Games, either through hospitality packages with hotels within a 90-minute drive of Athens or through rentals of private homes.

TRAVEL ΟΝΕ CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS
Travel One, which is located at Syntagma Square in central Athens, has celebrated its fifth year of operation. The agency specializes is inbound tourism, especially from Japan and Spanish-speaking markets.
Since the end of 2002, Travel One has also been involved in outbound travel, mostly excursions to Italy, Austria, and Hungary.
Michalis Stoupis, the agency's owner, said providing quality service to visitors was particularly important, as good word-of-mouth from tourists who have visited Greece is the equivalent of live advertising for the country.

34TH ΧΕΝΙΑ ΕΧΡΟ FOCUSES ΟΝ CONVENTIONS, MARINE TOURISM
More than 250 Greek and foreign exhibitors participated in this year's Xenia, the annual trade show for the tourism industry which was held in Piraeus, January 24-27.
Xenia, one of the most important shows for the tourist industry, attracted a large number of visitors who sought information on tourism equipment and services. Most exhibitors and visitors also participated in workshops held as part of the trade show's program. The main event, a conference on convention and exhibition tourism, was held at the Divani Caravel Hotel two days before Xenia opened and helped focus the industry on this lucrative and growing tourism market.
The trade show closed with a second conference on the prospects for developing sea tourism in Greece. Participants were also able to obtain information about European Union monies available through the Community Support Framework ΙΙΙ for small and medium-sized tourism businesses through 2006. Α study of investments made in Greece's hospitality sector in 2002, as well as the yield of these investments, was presented during the workshop.

IMAGE HOLIDAYS LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
Real-time reservations and travel bookings are now available on-line through the Greek Accommodation Center (GAC), a new website launched by a division of Image Holidays.
Using new technology, the website - www.greece-ontheweb.com - allows visitors to make hotel reservations online in real time, rather than going through the cumbersome process of sending a booking request and waiting for confirmation.
Clients who wish to join the electronic service can also register to join the service online.
The Greek Accommodation Center also provides online bookings for airport transfers and car hires, providing travel agents and hospitality property owners with a new method to serve their clients.

GRECOTEL AT CANNES
Grecotel was among participants in the International Luxury Travel Market show held in the French riviera resort of Cannes in December.
Grecotel is Greece's largest hotel chain and has 26 properties. It has received more than 65 international awards from customers and industry groups. The company was represented at Cannes by its sales and marketing director, Georgios Dimokritou, and the director of sales for the NJV Athens Plaza, Angeliki Vasilakopoulou.
More than 160 companies participated in ILTM, which covered 2,300 square meters.

ON 28-31 MARCH THIS YEAR THE 8TH TOURISTIKO PANORAMA
The 8th Touristiko Panorama will take place this year at the Piraeus Exhibition Center (OLP) on 28-31 March.
One of this years objectives will be to connect tourism with culture and sports.
The other basic objective is to document the trend of the up-coming tourist season with the presentation of the Market research “Behaviour and Practice of the Greek Tourist”, which is ongoing for the past three years.
During this year’s exhibition, the Ionian Islands will be the honored area of Greece.

From My Notebook - By Connie Soloyanis
-Greece has won another dubious honour: In a recent study the country has been rated the most corrupt in the European Union.
-Parallel to this, the airport taxes of Athens (at 54 Euros) are still the highest in the European Union, if not the world.
Germans are the top tourists worldwide (in numbers), with some 30 million (out of a total population of some 82 million) making a trip abroad every year.
On the other hand Hungarians with a population of some ten million have fourteen million make trips abroad every year. More trips than people.
-The medical terminology for passengers who die of blood clots while flying has been identified as “travellers thrombosis”. One estimate is that one thousand people die of this affliction in the average year.
-The British High Court has ruled that airlines cannot be sued by kin of victims of “travellers thrombosis” because the condition is not caused by an accident.
-Down under the Australian High Court does not agree and has scheduled to judge some such cases.
-Newest wrinkle in holiday offerings are private jet airplane packages - for the super rich. Samples: 14 night tour of Europe priced at $29,000 per person, and 22 night world tour for $52,000 per person.
-Interesting to note that the average daily hotel rate for Greece is now estimated at 75 Euros a night as compared with that of 95 Euros for the rest of Europe.
-With the onslaught of the Olympic Games of 2004 the Greek average hotel rate is expected to at least double. In the case of four and five star hotels the rate is expected to climb to 350 Euros per night.
-Some 45 percent of Greek incoming tourism is from major tour operators as opposed to some 30 percent for the rest of Europe. Tour operator clients pay less than individual clients.
-From observations it would appear that most youthful riders of the Athens Metro do not bother to purchase tickets.
-It would appear that the government’s attitude (as expressed by prime minister Kostas Simitis) is that if Olympic Airways is sold, no one will lose his job (including, naturally, the legions of government, politically-appointed staff members).
-With advent of new year visas for Greek would be visitors to the U.S.Α. will no longer be provided by local travel agents. All such applications must henceforth be made directly to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy. All in the cause of better security.
-For the statistic-minded readers: It is estimated that close to 20 million people are employed (directly or indirectly) in the travel industry of the U.S.Α.
-One of the real ironies of commercial air travel is that, on occasions, roundtrip fares can be cheaper than one-way rates.
-Laugh of the week:
When one CNN reporter slipped and said, “and in combating tourism” (instead of “terrorism”).