February 2002

Pandora's Box About to be Opened

This month's editorial was planned to talk about the ever changing environment of the travel and tourism industry. In fact the travel and tourism product, or better yet the service the consumer enjoys has slightly changed, what is on a constant change is everything else before the consumer even thinks of travelling. At present all elements are volatile, extremely dynamic and at times totally unpredictable. At this point there is no need to go in detail because a much more significant issue has come up, which has to be addressed.

Although the GNTO and the Ministry of Development are carrying along with their regular and planned duties, in other words going through the motions as they have been doing for decades, the government has put all issues concerning strategy, tactics and goals, either short term or long term, to a complete and full halt.

The way we asses the situation is that the government has other priorities, if we were to put it politically correct, but at this point things have gone totally out of hand and politically correctness is not the issue. The way we see things is that the government has so many problems, internally, externally, who knows?, that tourism is the very last thing it will take up and the sorry part is that it does not confront the travel and tourism professionals with honesty and dignity.

We are speaking about the issue of ΗΑΤΤΑ and their constant plead for taking actions in helping the travel industry in view of the results of the September 11 terrorist attack, as France, Spain, Holland and many others did.

ΗΑΤΤΑ has worked harder than any other time in the past, by making proposals, action plans, supplying the government with data and a myriad of other actions so that the travel agencies which it represents do not come to the point that they have to start laying off people or even closing. The net result: zero.

The government has totally forgotten that this class of people are the ones who years after years have brought tourists to Greece and along with them came the hard currency which came as a gift to cover a significant part of the balance of trade. These same small businesses are now asking for a helping hand so they may continue to bring gifts to Greece's economy.

If no action is taken then Pandora's Box will open. Α Box which we can not imagine, since this group of people have never taken action nor have they ever been in this kind of a position. So, dear government officials don't make another mistake by doing nothing, because if you do not take any action, the leased that will happen is that you will be giving the advantage to all those countries tourism that did receive a helping hand.
Hellenic Travelling

ECTAA pushing for Passenger Protection Plan

The adoption of a "Passenger Protection Plan (ΡΡΡ)" for the best and complete protection of the passengers in case of an Airline going bankrupt and the results from the crisis in the Travel agencies were the main subjects in the 84th Conference of ECTAA.
The Conference was held in Athens by ΗΑΤΤΑ and the National Travel Agencies Associations from 23 European countries had an interesting round-table discussion.
The most important issues raised in the Conference were the following:
The unique bankruptcy of two national airlines (Swissair and Sabena) as well as some other peripheral ones (i.e., Axon Airlines) is the result of the crisis that started on the 11th September. The number of travellers has decreased, especially in areas such as business tourism, Conference tourism, incentive travel and special interests travels.
Small and medium size travel agencies had to close down and many people were left unemployed.
When an Airline company goes bankrupt, the passengers are left completely unprotected. Therefore ECTAA / GEBTA together with ΙΑΤΑ have been studying for the last 2 years a "Passenger Protection Plan (ΡΡΡ)".
When a passenger enters a foreign country and has used an approved travel agency or a regular flight Airline, then the passenger is protected against insolvencies either by getting the value of the ticket refunded or by travelling with another Airline. Unfortunately, at least 9 EU members (including UK and Germany) are against ΡΡΡ.
Also, on the customers that have bought on organised tourist packet from tour operators are protected by the EU legislation (EC/90/314).
For this reason there is a great support from National Tourist Agencies and tour operators to ECTAA to renegotiate with major Airlines and EU key factors, the passenger protection issues.

Convention Bureau DISCUSSIONS

GNTO president Mr. John Patelis met with the representatives of the Board of Directors of the HETCO. They discussed the issue of founding a Convention Bureau and the promotion of Conference Tourism in Greece.
Also at the meeting, the structure and functioning of the Convention Bureau was discussed as well as the benefits of Conference Tourism to Greece.

GNTO meets with European Parliament Member

The European member of Parliament, Mr. Xatzidakis and the president of GNTO Mr. Patelis had a meeting about tourism.
Mr. Xatzidakis explained the policy of European Parliament for tourism and Mr. Patelis referred to the need of a co-ordination with the European members of Parliament for the best tourist promotion of Greece. He also pointed out that GNTO office in Brussels will support this cause.

GNTO Japan Issues Hellenic News

The GNTO office of Japan published the December issue of Hellenic News through the professional travel magazine Travel journal, which included a profile of the Minister of Development Mr. Α. Tsochatzopoulos, along with his message to the travel industry.
The latest Hellenic News also includes the news items of "Athens 2004", the Greek Cruise 2002 as well as a questioner about the new web site of G.Ν.Τ.Ο., which is in Japanese, as well as gifts to the 30 first who will send their comments on the site.
The gifts for the first 30 are, a book from the GNTO or a sign of the Athens Olympic Games.

The Presentation OF 2002 National Gallery Album

During the presentation of the National Gallery Album for 2002 with major sponsorer the GNTO, the president of the GNTO, Mr. Patelis pointed out that high priority has been given in combining tourism with culture, in order to promote Greek Tourism and attract tourists with special interests to Greece. This program starts in 2004.
The National Gallery Album for 2002 is dedicated to the painter Constantinos Parthenis.

U.S. Flight Crews to Get Training to Stop Hijacks

Flight crews would get more realistic training focused on how to stop hijackers, rather than just negotiate with them, under proposed training guidelines regulators will submit to airlines on Friday. Flight crews are currently taught to negotiate with attackers, but the new guidelines will emphasise taking action to counter threats although officials would not give details on what steps flight crews might be instructed to take. Training is currently limited to brief video and home study methods geared toward 1970s-era threats that were for the most part non-violent.

Co-operation Eurostar S.Α. AND Galileo Hellas S.Α.

Eurostar S.Α. extended its co-operation with Galileo Hellas S.Α. for the operation of Galileo central reservation system (C.R.S.) at its head offices and branches.
The aim of this strategic co-operation is to provide Eurostar S.Α. with hi-tech infrastructure, new products and services in order to offer faster and quality customer support.
Eurostar S.Α. was founded in 1981, is a subsidiary company of DOL and the largest Tour Operator in Greece.
Galileo S.Α. was founded in 1991, and is a subsidiary of Olympic Airways. Galileo is the largest Greek company specialising in the electronic management and distribution systems for the travel, tourism and transportation industry.

Delivery of "Superfast ΙΧ" Launch of the new Germany-Sweden route in the Baltic sea

Attica Enterprises S.Α. received the ultramodern car-passenger ferry "Superfast ΙΧ" and her sister vessel "Superfast Χ" from Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft Shipyard in Germany.
"Superfast ΙΧ" and "Superfast Χ" can transfer 626 passengers and 110 large trucks and at the same time 115 private vehicles. They have a total length of 203,3 ms, width of 25, 0 ms, draft of 6,5 m, and maximum speed over 30 knots.
Being fully equipped, the two luxurious Finnish, Super new cruise-class ferries of Attica Enterprises, offer many facilities to the passengers such as a la carte and smorgasbord-buffet restaurants, bars, a panoramic live music dancing lounge, a Casino, a video games and card room, shops and boutiques, conference rooms and business centre, children's playroom, satellite television and internet facilities.
"Superfast ΙΧ" is the third vessel which is going to sail in the Baltic Sea.
The inauguration service of the Superfast Baltic took place on May 17th, 2001.
"Superfast ΙΧ" and "Superfast Χ" are deployed on a daily route which connects Finland and Sweden to Germany and vice versa.
Also, two more superfast ferries are going to be deployed daily, connecting Rosyth (in Edinburgh) with Zeebrugge (in Belgium) in a journey of only about 17,5 hours.

Electric Cars at "Eleftherios Venizelos" Airport

The clients of "Eleftherios Venizelos" Airport will have the chance to use for the first time club car electronic vehicles specially constructed for the transportation of elderly people and people with special needs.
The American Industry of special vehicles and golf vehicles Club Car Inc. supplies vehicles for the electronic transportation, which is essential in "restricted" areas such as hotels, athletic facilities etc.
The company Pro-ceed Ltd which is the exclusive representative of the American Club Car vehicles industry in Greece, provided three companies (Athens International Airport, Goldair Handling S.Α. and Swissport Hellas S.Α.) with electronic club car vehicles of the villager 4 Electric make (which can carry 4 persons) and the Transporter 6 Electric make (devised to carry six persons and luggage). The special characteristic of the Club Car vehicles is that it is made of aluminium.

Amateur photography competition by GNTO Japan and SETE

Santorini, Mykonos and Athens were the main photography themes of the Japanese travel market, who participated in the competition of amateur photography for the year 2001, conducted by GNTO, in co-operation with SETE
The archaeological sites, the romantic landscape and the daily life of the Greeks, captured the artistic interest of the Japanese visitors, with many admirable photographs as far as professional perfection and sensitivity.
Taking into account the general participation, it is estimated that the duration of Japanese visitors in Greece exceeded 5 days and the age groups of 30-40 and over 50 had an increase of interest in the Greek destination.

Opodo Α New Online Booking System Owned by Airlines

Opodo, the new pan-European online-booking system, chose Germany for the launch of its first web site end of November. As Giovanni Bisignani, CEO said, "Opodo will offer extremely competitive prices for flights, hotel rooms and car rentals".
The U.Κ. web site will follow in February. France is targeted for April 2002. All other countries are supposed to be serviced by the low cost distribution channel by 2003. Opodo will introduce market-specific web sites which communicate in the local language, present specific content and are supported by local call centers and fulfilment agencies.
Opodo is a joint company of nine airlines (Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, Finnair, Austrian Airlines and Aer Lingus). There have been investments of 128 million Euro so far.

Minister of Development Announces New Advertisement Program

The Minister of Development Mr. Akis Tsohatzopoulos announced the new program of advertisement which will cost 10,6 billion drachmas.
The above expenditure will be allocated as follows:
- Promotion, public relations, subsidies: 2,2 billion drachmas.
- International television: 1,3 billion drachmas.
- Far East Advertisement: 3,3 billion drachmas.
- Crisis Management Committee activities, U.S.Α. advertisement and Conference Tourism: 1,8 billion drachmas.
- Tourist season Extension: 1,5 billion drachmas.
- COP Advertisement for Europe: 0,5 billion drachmas.
The Minister of advertisement said that the National Council of Tourism must adopt a new modern, effective and complete policy in order to upgrade tourism in Greece.
Also the National Council of Tourism must also study the findings-suggestions of the Crisis Management Committee which concern the problems stemming from the September 11 terrorist attack.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos also announced that the State Council approved the star-rating system for hotels.
He also said that Greek Tourist Real Estate Ltd, marinas the casino of Parnitha are already in the process of privatisation and that investments will be made for Athens Conference Centre.
As the Minister of Development pointed out, the study of the evaluation of G.Ν.Τ.Ο. assets, which aims at their best exploitation has been completed. Moreover, as Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said, 23000 rooms for the members of the Olympic family for Athens 2004 are almost ready. What is needed now is to find solutions to cover the accommodation of the excess number of visitors who will be present at the Games.
Also according to the Minister, emphasis is given on the reinforcement of Tourism coming from U.S.Α. and China.

New GSA for Ethiopian airlines

On December 28th 2001, Gold Star was appointed as the General Sales Agent (G.S.Α.) of Ethiopian airlines for Passenger and Cargo in Greece.

International Market Trends For Online Reservations

Internet may account for one in every four travel purchases in the main generating markets within the next five years, according to the World Tourism Organisation Business Council (WTOBC). Growth in online travel sales have been so rapid compared to other products, that it could also represent nearly half of all e-commerce within the next two to three years. Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) will become more immersed in actual transactions. The new report "Ε-Business for Tourism: Practical guidelines for Destinations and Businesses" is aimed at giving practical guidance on how to conduct e-business.
WTO has published the Tourism Market Trends 2001 series of reports. These provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis on international tourism for destinations around the World some highlights: All regions in the World hosted more tourists in 2000, although the fastest developing region continued to be East Asia and the Pacific with a growth rate of 14.7 % and some 14 million more tourists than in 1999. Europe which accounts for 58% of international tourism, grew by an impressive 6.1% to 403 million arrivals, nearly 25 million more than one year earlier. Receipts from international tourism climbed to US$ 476 billion in 2000, an increase of 4.5% over the previous year.

Nita Theodosi-Kontogianni Continues Family Tradition

Nita Theodosi - Kontogianni continues the family tradition as the President of the club of the Hotels that her father founded 35 years ago from which the first one was the Hotel "Dionisos" in Rhodes. Being a creative and anxious person offers to her clients a nice ambiance, consistency, excellent services and "a lot of Greece" as she claims. One of her future plans is the foundation of a thalassotherapy center in Kos and other luxurious hotels in Athens and the providence.

The Hotel Dionisos in the emerald island of Rhodes.

The Hotel Dionisos is situated in Ixia of Rhodes in the west of the island . It is very near the sea and has an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool.
The Hotel is decorated with Greek works of art and antiques.
The rooms are fully equipped with an air-conditioner, digital phone, radio, a colour satellite TV, bathrooms or showers with a hairdryer. Moreover, the hotel has 3 restaurants with one serving Cypriot food, 3 bars, 1 cafeΓ which serves all kinds of quality coffee and excellent crepes. It also has a Super Market, Mini Market, a jewellery shop, a Tennis Court, 2 Conference rooms and the Celofan Night Club with Greek music.
For children there is a special swimming pool with sea water and a playground, as well as an animation team of four persons who entertain all ages with games, water polo, aerobics, night shows, etc.
Finally, the hotel has a beautiful and private garden with tropical trees and plants, which offers peace and relaxation.

Oceanis Beach Resort Hotel in Kos.

The Oceanis Resort hotel is situated in "Psalidi" of Kos, on a beach of 400 meters. It's 5 kilometres away from the city and the port, built in a traditional way of Mediterranean architecture and surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden.
It is decorated with traditional and modern Greek works of art, as determined by the President of the club Mrs. Nitta Teodosi-Kontogianni.
All 386 rooms have a bathroom or shower, an air-conditioning system, refrigerator, digital phone, radio and colour satellite TV.
The 8 luxurious suites have 2 separate rooms with satellite TV sets, W.C., a main bath, HIFI system, an air conditioner and balconies with a view to the sea.
The main restaurant Ambrosia, bars Apollo lounge and Cafe Greco, Poseidon Beach Bar or Surfers Beach Bar satisfy all tastes, while the Pool restaurant Maistros offers a light lunch. There are also the Aquarius Pool and the Pool Bar Greco.
Children can play in the playground and in the swimming pool especially designed for them. There is also one swimming pool for adults. Furthermore, the hotel has 2 tennis courts, ping-pong courts, basketball courts, mini golf courts, volleyball courts, a water polo swimming pool and mountain-bike rental service. The fitness Center of the hotel has a Jacuzzi and a sauna.
An animation team offers endless sports programs, gymnastics and games all day long as well as night shows.

Minos Imperial Resort a New Luxury Hotel in Crete

The new luxurious Hotel "Minos Imperial Luxury Beach Resort" is situated in Milatos of the prefecture of Lasithio between Malia (15 km) and Agios Nikolaos (24 km). It is 45 km away from the international airport of Heraklion and belongs to the entrepreneur Minos Geniatakis from Crete. There is a complimentary shuttle bus service to Milatos 3 times daily (1km). Also a Public bus stop in Milatos (2 times daily to Heraklion, Malia and Hersonisos).
This brand new resort hotel opened in July 2001 and has a fascinating view to the Cretan Arhipelagos.
The hotel is an ideal paradise with luxurious facilities, high-quality services and a friendly staff.
Its also consists of 203 rooms and suites in bungalow style which are tastefully decorated and fully equipped. What is left now is the construction of 60 more rooms. Each room has access to swimming pools and there are suites with a private swimming pool (totally there are ten private pools in the hotel). The biggest of the four remaining pools covers an area of 1.600 square meters.
"Minos Imperial" Hotel has offered hospitality to clients from central Europe (mainly from Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Israel and Greece).
Occupancy in August reached 100%, in September they were satisfactory while in October occupancy was more than 75%.
The hotel has two tennis courts. Ping-pong Beach, volleyball, Mini Club providing child-minding services for 4 to 12 year-olds, outdoor gymnastics area. Daily variety of sports and activity programs (gymnastics, aerobics, aqua lit, body forming). Daily animation and evening programs.
One can enjoy, at an extra charge the following services: Fitness/Gym room, ham am, sauna, indoor Jacuzzi, water sport center, diving school, mountain bikes, babysitting on request, electronic games, hair-dresser's, doctor on request.

Congress Market Research Study of Italy

According to a market research conducted in Italy regarding the Congress Industry, supplied by the GNTO office of Italy, points out the following interesting elements:
The first choice of the Italian Congress Organisers was Spain with the 14 Conferences and 2.800 participants.
In the year 1999 the Italians went about 420.000 trips abroad, in order to take part in Conferences or seminars. This kind of trips represents 21% of outgoing business travel.
The total amount of overnights for the above trips comes up to 1.900.000 nights and the tourist turnover to 470 million Euros.
According to the research the number of participants in Conferences in Italy is 15,7 million, each having a tourist turnover of 9.767 billion ITL. Travel abroad represent 3% of the total amount of trips, while the tourist turnover represents 9% of the total.
According to the findings, regarding the trips of the Italians abroad for Conferences from 1996-1999, they have increased steadily, from 200.000 in 1997 to 600.000 in 1999.
Travel of short / average distances are going well while the progress of long-distance travels is relatively stable and is represented by 60.000 to 80.000 trips per year.
The 60% of trips are materialised during the months, May-October, while 40% during the winter months January-April and November-December.
Short trips, 1-3 nights, represent 55% of the travels abroad. Four to seven nights represent one third.






According to the report the average duration for 1999 was 4.4 nights while the total of overnights for the same year was 1.9 million nights.
55% of the trips abroad for Conferences are made by the Italians through a Travel Agency.
93% of the trips abroad for Conferences are made in Α and Β class hotels.
65% of the trips abroad for conferences are made by plane.
In 1999, 38% of the Italians spent 250-499 Euros for each Conference Travel abroad, while the average spent 1.110 Euros per trip or 220 Euros per night.
The Italians taking part in such travels are mainly men (82%), 25-54 years old, middle class (62%) and of medium-high educational level (99%).
Conference trips are basically made by people living on the northwest of Italy (50%) and large cities (55%).
The destinations which the Italians prefer for conference trips abroad are mainly neighbouring countries (France 28%, Germany 19%, Austria 13%). For longer trips they prefer U.S.Α (7%) and Asia-Pacific (9%).

Development Potential of Incentive Travel

The Incentive Travel industry is a sector in growth. Specifically, Incentives are growing in the industries of banking, insurance and telecommunications.
Large profit margins in this industry and the growth potential attract a significant number of new travel entrepreneurs, thus creating a highly competitive market.
Another phenomenon which has started to form is the entrance of advertising agencies in the field of Incentive travel. Many advertising agencies have created internally an Incentive department, so that they may offer their clients integrated services.
The most preferable destinations from Europe are France, Spain, Greece, Portugal and the European capitals, while in the rest of the world, the top positions are held by U.S.Α, the Caribbean, Egypt, Kenya, Tunisia, Maroco and South Africa.
According to the report, in 1999 about 70.000 incentives took place abroad by Italians.
The overnights for the 69000 incentives were about 380.000.
Taking into consideration that the cost for each travel is about 1.300 Euros on average, the total turnover reaches 90 million Euros. To this amount we must also add the personal expenses of the participants, which almost reach 60 million Euros, a fact that means that Italians totally spent 150 million Euros for incentives abroad.
Incentives abroad of short/average distances have decreased, whereas long-distance travels have increased (with the volume of 20.000-30.000 travels per year for the Italian Market).
One third of the incentive travels abroad made by the Italians is represented by "long Haul" travel in which the main destinations are U.S.Α and the Caribbean.
Most of the incentives abroad made by the Italians are made during the winter semester, i.e. the months January-April (42%) and November-December (65%). Two out of 3 incentive travels are made during that period and one is made during the summer (from May to October).
Most of these travels last 4-7 nights (55%).
In 1999 these trips lasted 5 nights, while the total of the overnights reached 380.000 nights.
Most incentive travels abroad are made in an Α' class hotel (4-5 stars), while very rarely the Italians choose Β' class hotels for these trips.
During the last years, the most preferable hotels (except the classical ones) are hotels like the Holiday Club/Resort hotel.
The most preferable means of transport for such travels is the airplane (90%).
According to the findings, Italians who make such travels, spend a large amount of money for their personal expenses.
In 1999 the Italians spent for each travel about 900 Euros.
Most incentives abroad are made by people living all over Italy, with a slight preference from the northern-central part. The Italians taking part in such travels are mainly men (75%), 25-54 years old (88%), middle class (52%) and of medium-high educational level (84%).

ΟΤΕ Adjusts to the New Market Conditions

ΟΤΕ adjusts to the new conditions of the telecommunication market rapidly. First, it treats its competitors as clients by signing agreements of connection. ΟΤΕ also modernises its network and the wide network of sales in order to satisfy its clients. With this strategy ΟΤΕ aims to achieve economies of scale, a better performance and to maintain its competitive advantage in the telecommunication sector.
Some examples of ΟΤΕ's new strategy are: the equalisation of its pricing policy with other European countries, the focusing on mobile telephony and new services, the adoption of new improved practices in the supplies of the organisation.
Moreover, ΟΤΕ continues to develop technologically advanced networks such as:
*Integrated Management Systems -ΤΜΝ
*95% of lines connected with digital centers
*100% digital network infrastructure
*Increasing of the disposed capacity of leased line circuits.
*Doubling of ISDN channels in 2001 comparably to 2000.
*Modernisation of the access network.
*ΑΤΜ networks with 38 PoPs
*National ΙΡ network (82 PoPs, Internet offload)
* Satellite network Infrastructure
*Digital multimedia - TV, interactive services, fast internet.
Also, through its subsidiary Cosmote, ΟΤΕ wishes to offer pioneering value added
services to the Greek consumers.

Governments and Internet The next revolution

In most countries, citizens who deal with government agencies get into a tiring routine which they would like to avoid. Since 1996, in Arizona of the U.S.Α., a project offers citizens the opportunity to deal with government agencies, 356 days a year.
For this investment the taxpayers paid nothing at all since ΙΒΜ offered the service and collected 2% of the cost of the service. The State also had a profit of about 1,17 million dollars.
Soon, the government got into internet and realised the benefits of the e-government. By improving the quality of their services towards their citizens, can make their country or periphery more competitive.
The enterprises prefer the countries, which offer them the benefits of the e-government.
The government in order to prepare, must create the appropriate kind of legislation for the application of digital economy, which will have to deal with the digital signature, protection of the consumer etc.
They must also apply a safe Intranet where central data will reach all the services and will ease their co-operation. Another thing the governments must do is to develop services adjusted to the needs of the citizen, accessible through the web.
Moreover, they should create a government "market place" where different sectors will be able to advertise their needs and authorised suppliers can offer fast and cheap services at centrally negotiable prices.
Finally the politicians must know how to use a computer and the Internet in their daily life in order to offer on-line voting.

Market Forecasts for the Upcoming Summer Season

During the current year, the rate of the development of Greek economy will be lower than 4% which was initially predicted by ΙΤΕ. The rate will probably fluctuate between 3,0-3,5%.
Concerning the currency stability there's a slight weakening of inflation which will be about 3%.
Also things in the fiscal sector have not changed. The sector of General Government remains at the same high levels as 5-6 years ago.
On the contrary, the balance of payments on current account has increased. The extremely weak capacity of development is a typical characteristic of Greek economy.
In 2002, the rate of development will be about 4%. It is also believed that world economy will recover sooner than generally predicted.
On an international level the overall growth rate will not exceed 2-2.5% in contrast the predicted 3.5%, mostly due to the economy of the USA.
This slowdown is milder in the developing countries. The world inflation was de-escated from 4,7% in 2000 to 4,5% in 2001. The reductions in the rest of the world eliminated the slight speeding from 2,3% to 2,4% of the inflation in the developed countries.
The prospects for the next year are generally good and the sooner than expected recovery is due to the terrorist attack.
In 2002, the rate of the development of world economy is expected to exceed 3% and will be about 3-5%. This recovery will be universal. The economic activity will be benefited, as well as the markets of stock values.
Finally, world inflation will be decreased to 3,5%.
The tourist activity during the current year had a slight decrease in economic performance in comparison to 2000.
Including August, the arrivals had increased by 3%. On the contrary, the currency inflows to Greece until August decreased by 1,5% and by 7% in August. Generally the number of arrivals will be the same as 2000.
The Ionian Islands, the islands of the North-Eastern Aegean Sea, Central and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace had an increase of 4-5%, based on airport arrival data, while Crete and Dodecanissa remained at the same levels of 2000.
Estimations for 2002 are difficult to make because they are based on 2 assumptions:
The results of the war against terrorism will soon be positive and the memory of insecurity will be diminished
Greece will capitalise on the positive advantage it has due to circumstances, for the short time.
For the purpose of forecast, the study concludes that the defeat of terrorism and the determination of the international society to cope with the issue, will improve rapidly the conditions along with the recovery of the world economy, thus Greece will enjoy a good tourist season.
The results of a study regarding the possibilities of domestic tourism are pessimistic because:
a) the number of the days per person available for domestic tourism in our country is more than double than the average in the Ε.U.
b) the belief that domestic tourism could substitute foreign tourist product is not realistic.
c) The capabilities of increase in domestic tourism with motives are not enough because of development issues.
For these reasons, domestic tourism can not substitute the foreign one.
The intense seasonality is a typical flow of Greek tourism because it affects dramatically the sources employed at the relative sector of production.
According to the ΙΤΕΡ survey, Greece has not a competitive advantage for the attraction of winter tourists from Western Europe whereas it has a very intense competitive disadvantage.
The policy for the increase of winter tourism must aim at the sightseeing-cultural tourism and at countries of origin where the Greek tourist product does not have competitive disadvantages over the traditional competing countries.
Taking into consideration the capabilities leads to the following conclusion: a successful attraction of foreign tourists during winter can take place only in cities which combine accessible cultural-sightseeing interest with humanitarian services able to satisfy the materialistic and spiritual needs of the visitors.
The tourism of the cities appeals to more mature, demanding and prosperous visitors, a fact which must not be misleading because:
a) Greece does not have beautiful cities but cities of a unique archaeological and sightseeing interest.
b) The European tourism of the cities is based on short visits mainly made by car. This is not possible for our country which is far away from the centres of origin.
These findings underline the significance of the problems which will be confronted by any policy aimed to enhance winter tourism.



Popular Art and Craft Exhibition Ends with Success
The exhibition "Popular Art" and " Craft" which took place on 10-13 January at OLP in Piraeus, had a great success. At this exhibition where "Popular Art" and "Craft" were combined for the first time, 600 craftsmen and tradesmen presented their creations.
Some of the participants of "Popular Art and Craft" were the union of tradesmen of Popular Art of Attica, the union of the producers of modern and Popular art of Heraklion of Crete, the tradesmen of Popular art of Heraklion-Lasithio "Dedalos", the association of the producers of artistic craftsmanship of the Hania prefecture.

SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR ANNOUNCE AMADEUS & FOURTH DIMENSION SOFTWARE FOR JOINT VENTURE ATINERA

Amadeus Global Travel Distribution and Fourth Dimension Software (FDS) marked the first anniversary of Atinera, a joint venture between the two companies that provides travel automation and management systems to the leisure travel industry world-wide. In its first year of operation, Atinera has launched successfully in North America, Europe and Asia and now services major clients around the world, including Travelocity.com and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS).
Formally launched in December 2000, Atinera embarked on an aggressive strategy to become a leading provider of travel technology world-wide. In May 2001 the company purchased TraveLease, a provider of hosted automation solutions to small and mid-sized tour operators in North America.
In October 2001 Atinera opened its European headquarters outside London, UK. In conjunction with its launch in Europe, Atinera also announced its first customer in that market, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). The principal airline and travel provider in Scandinavia, SAS will use the Atinera solution to create and deliver reservation, inventory and automation processes for Fly and Stay, a new leisure tour operator for its Pleasure brand.
Atinera continued its international expansion into the Asia Pacific region the very next month with its purchase of Atlas from Amadeus Australia.
In December 2001, Atinera ended a successful first year of operations with the deployment of FDS' Contour(r) technology for Travelocity.com, the leading travel Web site. Travelocity.com will use Atinera to service select reservations - which consist of multiple travel components such as air, hotel, car and transfers across several distribution channels - made under the Travelocity Vacations brand to its most popular vacation destinations.
"Amadeus and FDS formed Atinera in December 2000 to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity to serve the technology needs of the leisure travel industry," said Philippe Chereque, Chairman of Atinera and Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy of Amadeus. "With the selection of Atinera by world-leading travel companies plus an impressive pipeline of opportunities, we anticipate that 2002 will establish Atinera as the partner of choice for a significant segment of the leisure travel industry."
"Our joint venture with Amadeus has in a single year grown into an exceptional provider of technology solutions and services that serves leading travel companies around the globe. We are delighted with the progress and promise that Atinera has shown, and we look forward to the continued growth and success of the venture," said Ilya Pavolotsky, Chief Operating Officer, FDS. "We are very excited that Travelocity.com has selected Contour technology and Atinera in its strategy to pursue and develop new market opportunities."

From My Notebook by Connie Soloyanis
From My Notebook
The year 2002 has been officially designated as the Year of Ecotourism by the United Nations. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has echoed the United Nations by also declaring the year 2002 as the Year of International Ecotourism.
Along these lines Greece is reportedly planning (and urgently needs) development of traditional village housing, national parks and mountain trekking routings.
Parallel to this development, the ΗΝΤΟ has a program to "subsidise" tourism to Greece during the "off-season" period, with a budget of 40 euros per arrival.
Similar as the U.S. government is bailing out ailing airlines, the Hellenic National Tourism Organisation has a program to help salvage key elements of the tourist trade, by funnelling aid fund to leading Greek tour operators through ΗΑΤΤΑ.
Some of the leading incoming and outgoing tour operators in Greece are close to bankruptcy as the result of the dramatic slowdown in tourist traffic and dismal future projections.
Where are the "cancelled tourists" taking their holidays? In one instance, over one million residents of the United Kingdom are planning to do so within the U.Κ. this year.
ΑΒΤΑ, the travel association of the United Kingdom, projects four years for full recovery from the September 11 attacks. Hotel occupancy has plunged over 50 percent in the U.Κ.
As could be expected due to the almost constant deathly violence in Israel tourism there has dropped over 75 percent.
To help boost tourist traffic to Egypt that government has offered "compensation" for the cost of up to 30 percent of empty seats of an aircraft's capacity on charter flights this winter.
On the positive side, there should be some 1.56 billion tourist arrivals recorded world-wide by the year 2020, according to the WTO. Europe should record some 50 to 60 percent of these.
Further projections into 2020 would have China as the leading travel destination in the world with some 130,000,000 tourists. Second would be the U.S.Α., followed by France (currently the top favourite destination), Spain, Hong Kong and Italy.
Greece is slated to be the first country in Europe to welcome groups of tourists from China, thanks to the efforts of the Minister of Development Dimitri Georgakopoulos.
Airports in the United Arab Emirates have slashed landing and parking fees for aircraft by 50 percent.
Parallel to this Gulf Air added dozens of extra flights to cope with demands for regional traffic, and to Cairo and Beirut over the yearend holidays.
Thus far some 25,000 Greeks, living in Greece and abroad, have expressed interest in volunteering to serve at the Olympic Games of 2004 to be held in Athens. Greeks living abroad would get a free trip and stay.




Many residents of Athens, anticipating chaos during the Games, are already considering renting out their apartments (and travelling) during those two weeks of the Games in August, 2004.
Security is still the major concern for the Olympic Games. As previously reported an "army" of some 50,000 personnel is planned for all security measures.
All told, including approved new hotels and additions to such as the Athens Hilton, the Grande Bretagne and Electra Hotels (all presently closed and undergoing general renovation and extensions) there should be some 7,000 new hotel rooms available for the 2004 Olympic Games.
Α flotilla of cruise ships is also to be available to supply accommodations, despite the month of August being a normally fully-booked season for cruises. It would appear that Olympic Games bring higher cabin fees than regular cruises.
Before leaving office on December 31, Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City helped put finishing touches to a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in New York City, and announced plans for the
Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tournament to be held on the planned new golf course in the borough of the Bronx.
Incidental Intelligence: More than 90 percent of the aircraft utilised by recognised airlines are leased from holding companies. Among the exceptions are Swissair, Olympic and Delta.
Α recent study shows that holidays booked through travel agents are longer, and the people booking through agencies spend much more money than others.
Greeks have been declared the champion smokers of Europe, having consumed over eight billion fags in the last calendar year. That's calculated to be the equivalent of nine cigarettes per Greek per day. Imported brands accounted for some 68 percent.