May 2002

Α Significant 'Updating' In the Aegean
There has been a significant 'updating' in the Aegean---in terms of cruising, and secondly, of ferry services.
Of prime significance has been the introduction of a new luxurious vessel for cruising. This is the Olympic Explorer, which was delivered to Royal Olympic Cruises last month, and put into service on a series of special sailings.
The Olympic Explorer is a sister ship of the Olympic Voyager, which was introduced by ROC in June of 2000. These two vessels, not only affirm that ROC is the largest cruise operator in the eastern Mediterranean, but it has two of the newest, and certainly, fastest ships in cruise operation. Cruising speed is a notable 28 knots an hour. This speed facilitates new and more exciting cruise schedules with longer shore explorations possible.
Another notable factor of these two ships is that they are not 'super-giants' loading some 2,500 or more passengers, as some others operate. The new ships of ROC accommodate 836 passengers each, which permit more personalized services on board, and easy and convenient embarkation and debarkation. The size also enables ROC to call at some of the smaller idyllic islands of the Aegean, which cannot accommodate the 'monsters of the sea' of others.
There is also significant updating in ferry services within the Aegean. Superfast Ferries has accepted delivery of two new ships, Superfast ΙΧ and Superfast Χ, and is anticipating delivery of two more ships later this year. In accepting delivery of these new ships, Superfast disposed of two of its older ferries.
Not to be outdone Strintzis Lines has taken possession of the Blue Star Paros, which is now operating on a Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Santorini schedule. Another new ferry, the Blue Star Naxos is expected to be delivered sometime this month. At the same time Strintzis has sold one of its older ships, the Catamaran Seajet 1.
Α new ferry service is also being introduced by Hellas Flying Dolphins. This is a daily sailing from the port of Heraklion in Crete to Santorini, Paros, Naxos and Myconos, with Flying Cat 4, which has a speed of 40 knots an hour.
All of the above is creating a new atmosphere of comfort and convenience in both cruising and ferryboat service in the Aegean.
It should be mentioned that the islands which all of these various ships service are still idyllic as in the past. Only the service to and from has been 'updated.'

GREEKS PREFER HOLIDAYS AT ΗΟΜΕ
Fifty percent of Greeks who take a holiday prefer to do so in their own country, according to a recent survey made by the European Union. This is the highest percentage within the EU nations. When travelling abroad Greeks prefer non-EU destinations.
Some 62 percent of all Greeks take holidays, and some 60 percent utilize their own automobiles.
In indicated preferences, over 95 percent of all Greeks would rather holiday within their own country, the highest rate within the EU. At the other end of the scale less than one half percent of the citizens of Luxemburg would take a holiday within their own nation.
As is well known Greeks prefer their holidays during the months of July and August.

INTERNATIONAL LUXURY TRAVEL MARKET SET FOR CANNES THIS DECEMBER
The annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) is being held in Cannes, France, December 10 to 12. Some 60 percent of space available has already been booked, according to the organizers.
This year Reed Travel Exhibitions, organizer of some of the leading international travel trade events, has joined with ILTM, to organize and promote the show.
It has been estimated that three percent of the world travellers (who book luxury class) represent some 20 percent of travel expenditures.

ECO-TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Α GOVERNMENT PRIORITY
The development of eco-tourism, also known as agro-tourism in Greece, is a government priority, according to Dimitris Georgakopoulos, Deputy Minister of Development, in a speech he made to a meeting of some 40 representatives of eco-tourism enterprises.
He stressed that there are shortages and weaknesses, which need to be addressed, and a new set of quality standards are to be established

GREECE AND CYPRUS ΤΟΡ CHOICES FOR BRITISH TOURISTS
Greece and Cyprus remain top choices for British tourists. Greece attracts some 2.5 million a year, while Cyprus attracts some three million visitors a year, primarily British.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ΑΒΤΑ) estimates that some 20 million package holidays were sold in the United Kingdom during the year 2001. While in general advance bookings were down for 2002, there was confidence that an upsurge will develop for late bookings, due to excellent deals.
While Spain is the top attraction for British tourists (with many on time-sharing arrangements), and France is tops for one-day visitors, Greece and Cyprus are also very popular.
Cyprus attracts a large number of visitors, many on an annual basis, because it has a much longer tourist calendar season due to its mild weather through the normal winter months.

GREEKS ΚΕΕΡ FLOCKING ΤΟ CYPRUS
Many Greeks keep flocking to Cyprus for holidays. In the year 2000 over 100,000 were recorded. Last year, as a result of the September 11 disaster there was a decline of some ten percent to about 90,000. Estimates of Georgios Ioannides, director of the Cypriot Organization of Tourism in Athens, there should be over 100,000 this year.
The average Greek visitor stays one week, and primarily in Lefkosia and Limassol.

GREECE-CYPRUS COOPERATION ΙΝ TOURISM
Akis Tsohatzopoulos, the Greek Minister of Development, and Nikos Rolandis, Cypriot Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, held reciprocal meetings in Nicosia and in Athens to further tourism cooperation between the two governments. Among the decisions taken is the opening of a ΗΝΤΟ office in Nicosia, and cooperation between the Cyprus Organization of Tourism (COT) and the Hellenic National Tourism Organization (ΗΝΤΟ).
In addition to a joint policy, advertising and research, there is common interest in developing new markets, such as China, Arab and Spanish-speaking countries. Parallel to this is possible investments of Cypriots in Greece and Greeks in Cyprus.
As part of this new policy the ΗΝΤΟ was represented at the Arabian Travel Market held recently in Dubai, by Yannis Patellis, president of the Hellenic National Tourism Organization. He had meetings with Khaleb Bin Sulem, director of tourism of Dubai.
Patellis also attended the Travel 2002 show held in Nicosia in May, at which he had a meeting with Christos Prentzas, president of the Cypriot Organization of Tourism, for further possible joint ventures.

WORLD YOUTH AND STUDENT TRAVEL CONFERENCE SET FOR ΤΗΕ ISLAND OF RHODES ΙΝ SEPTEMBER
The 11th annual World Youth and Student Travel Conference is to be held on the island of Rhodes, from September 29 through October 5. Both the fair and the conference are to be held at the Sofitel Capsis Hotel.
Some 800 delegates are expected, representing some 500 companies from 80 countries around the world.
The program includes a travel market, individual buyer-seller appointments plus a series of workshops and seminars centred on various sectors of travel and tourism.
The WYSTC is a joint event of the Federation of Youth and Student Travel Organization and the International Student Travel Confederation.

BEST WESTERN LAUNCHES 'PREMIER' HOTELS
Best Western International, the world's largest hotel chain, has launched a new strategy to identify a select group of its European properties. Formal introduction of the chain's “premier” hotels is scheduled for the fall of this year. Some 27 amenities and services additional to the already required Best Western product standards are to be added.
The program is expected to affect between 125 and 250 Best Western hotels in Europe. These are expected to include hotels in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
In total there are some 4,000 hotels in 83 countries and territories in the Best Western International operation, which was founded in the U.S.Α. in 1946.
Best Western Greece is the affiliate office of Best Western International.
Established 11 years ago the Athens office also has license for the development of hotels in the chain in Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Romania and Syria. At present there are 22 member hotels in Greece, one in Cyprus, four in Romania and two in Lebanon.

GREEKS FLOCK ΤΟ PRAGUE AND MALTA FOR EASTER
Prague and the island of Malta proved to be popular choices for Greeks seeking to enjoy the Easter holiday abroad. Close to one thousand enjoyed a three-night visit to the Czech Republic capital. The total represented a notable increase over the number of Greeks who flew to Prague for the Easter holiday last year.
On May 3 CSCzech Airlines operated five flights from Athens to Prague and two from Thessaloniki. All flights were fully booked.
Four flights were required to be operated by Air Malta, from between Athens and Valletta, for some 500 passengers during the same period.
Discover the World Marketing, representing the two airlines in Greece, made all the bookings and other arrangements for these flights.

GREECE-CHINA COOPERATION ΙΝ TOURISM
Reciprocal visits in Beijing and Athens were made by Greek and Chinese government ministers to discuss the development of tourism between the two countries. One delegation from China visited ancient Olympia and Epidaurus as part of a familiarization tour. Another delegation visited the islands of Santorini, Crete and several of the Cycladic grouping of islands.
Several further joint meetings have been planned for the near future.
It was announced that some twelve million Chinese travel abroad every year, with at least one million choosing trips to Europe.
It is anticipated that Greece will prove to be a popular new destination for Chinese tourists because of the ancient civilization and the Olympic Games of 2004 being held in Athens. The Olympic Games of 2008 are scheduled to be held in Beijing.
There is interest in direct air links between the two countries.

TURKISH-GRECO TOURIST COOPERATION
Turkish tourist enterprises have shown a special interest in the recent travel fair held in Istanbul, which was termed a success. There is further Turkish interest to participate more actively. This was recorded by members of Helexpo during the ΕΜΙΤΤ fair held in Istanbul in April.
ΕΜΙΤΤ and Philoxenia are to exchange space at both shows. The next Philoxenia is scheduled from October 31 to November 3.

RENOVATE ST GEORGE LYCABETTUS HOTEL
The St. George Lycabettus Hotel, situated on the Lycabettus mountain in the center of Athens, has undergone a renovation. The boutique style property is comprised of 157 guest rooms and suites. These include balconies facing either the Acropolis or Lycabettus Hill.
Facilities and services include an outdoor swimming pool and a business center among others, and a convenient shuttle bus service to the city center.

ROYAL OLYMPIC CRUISES HAS DELIVERY OF NEW SHIP
Royal Olympic Cruises has taken delivery of the Olympic Explorer from Blohm Voss shipyards in Hamburg. This new, luxurious vessel is a sister ship to the Olympic Voyager which joined the ROC fleet in June of 2000. These vessels are the fastest cruise ships in the world, with a cruising speed of over 28 knots.
Built at a cost of US$175 million, the Olympic Explorer is luxurious, with a passenger capacity of 836. ROC is now the largest cruise company in the eastern Mediterranean in capacity available.
ROC now owns and operates eight cruise ships.

NEW FERRY SERVICE FROM CRETE ΒΥ HELLAS FLYING DOLPHIN
Α new ferry service linking the island of Crete (from the port of Heraklion) with the islands of Santorini, Paros, Naxos and Myconos by Hellas Flying Dolphin is being introduced as of June 21.
This daily service is with the ship Flying Cat 4, travelling at a speed of 40 knots an hour. The trip from Heraklion to Santorini is scheduled for one hour and 45 minutes.
The ship has a capacity for 443 passengers, in two classes. This new schedule is effective through
September 8.

SUPERFAST FERRIES ACQUIRES TWO NEW SHIPS
Superfast Ferries recently accepted delivery of two new ships, Superfast ΙΧ and Superfast Χ and is anticipating delivery of two more vessels later this year.
At the same time Attica Enterprises has announced that the government of Tasmania (Australia) and ΤΤ-Line ΡΤΥ of Tasmanian have agreed to acquire Superfast ΙΙΙ and Superfast IV for service in the Bass Strait.
Superfast operate services in the Adriatic Sea, connecting Greece and Italy, in the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland and Germany and Sweden to Germany. New service is scheduled from Scotland to Belgium across the North Sea.

STRINTZIS LINES ADDS ΟΝΕ NEW SHIP, SELLS ΟΝΕ OLD ΟΝΕ
Strintzis Lines has taken possession of the Blue Star Paros, a new ferry built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. It is being operated on a Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Santorini schedule. The ship has 38 passenger cabins with 132 berths, spacious lounges, a passenger capacity for 1,500, and 240 cars, or 35 trucks and 100 cars. The ship travels at 24.5 mph.
Another new ferry, the Blue Star Naxos, is expected to be delivered by this June, for a schedule to the Cycladic Islands.
The company also announced the sale of the Catamaran Seajet 1.

AEGEAN CRONUS AIRLINES ΤΟ MYCONOS
Aegean Cronus Airlines has introduced three daily flights between Athens and the island of Myconos. This June the airline is also introducing four weekly flights between Thessaloniki and Myconos.
The balance of flights scheduled by Aegean Cronus is 95 a day to a dozen Greek and six European destinations, in Germany and Italy.

NEW TOURIST PROJECTS FOR KYLLINI
Preussag, the world's largest tourist enterprise, and the Daskalantonakis Group have joined forces to develop tourist projects at Kyllini in the Pelopennese. These include three hotels (5-star category) with a total of 1,500 beds, a health spa and thalassotherapy, a congress center, and an athletic center.
Both companies are involved with Grecotels.
The new joint project is expected to increase tourist interest in the Peloponnese.

AMPHITRION CELEBRATES ΟΝΕ YEAR ΑΤ EL VENIZELOS AIRPORT
Amphitrion Travel recently celebrated one year of operation at El Venizelos International Airport of Athens. The office handled more than 5,000 requests for hotels, transfers to cruise ships and tours within Greece. Another 3,000 were accommodated in buying air and boat tickets.
Nikos Gazelides, managing director of the Amphitrion Group, noted that there is anticipation of handling double the numbers during the second year of operation for the airport facility.

AIRBUS SALES LOOKING UP
Airbus, the world's second largest aircraft manufacturer, reports that new orders for airplanes have reached 22 this year thus far. This has created an optimistic viewpoint.
Original prospects were for massive losses in overall revenue for this year.

NEW DRUG FOR LONGHAUL FLYERS
Α new drug, called Arixtra, which reputedly could reduce the risk of passengers on long haul flights from developing blood clots, has been introduced in the United Kingdom. Records show that every year more air passengers die from blood clots developing aloft than in airline crashes.
The condition has been identified as Deep Vein Thrombosis more popularly known as “economy class syndrome”.
Arixtra has been developed principally to reduce the risk of DVT to people undergoing orthopaedic operations. It is claimed that the drug reduces patient risk of blood clotting by 50 percent over present treatments.

ΝΑΜΕ SINGAPORE AIRLINES WORLD'S BEST AIRLINE
Singapore Airlines has been named the world's best airline at the annual OAG Airline Awards held in London. The awards are based on a poll of OAG worldwide subscribers.
Air Canada was named best airline in North America, Brazilian air carrier Varig the best based in South America, and British Airways won Best Trans-Atlantic Airline along with an award for Best International First Class.
An independent on-line poll is now being conducted to discover the best international airport. The results are expected to be announced in December of this year.
Eddie Bell, Chairman of OAG said: "The Airline of the Year Awards publicly recognize the highest standards within the industry and all the nominees should feel exceptionally proud of their achievement, in what has been an extremely difficult year."

EASYJET ACQUIRES GO ΤΟ EXPAND NETWORK
The low-cost airline easyJet has entered into an agreement to acquire the British low cost Go airlines.
Cost at the acquisition is reported to be 374 million English pounds sterling. This acquisition will enable easyJet to expand its services appreciably.
Barbara Cassani, CEO of Go, stated, “This acquisition is a tremendous compliment to all of us at Go. And. Ι know Go will contribute enormously to the success of the combined group.”
Stelios Hadji-Ioannou, chairman of easyJet said, “This is one of the most exciting developments in easyJet's history and offers potential to create substantial value to our shareholders. The new combination will result in becoming the leading low cost airline in Europe.”

LUFTHANSA RECORDS BRIGHT PROSPECTS
Lufthansa, leading airline of Germany, has reported net profits for the first quarter of this year amounting to some US$10.8 million, representing a gain of six percent over last year's operations during the same period.
Α combination of a cost cutting program and a reduction in capacity has been credited for achieving these positive results. The airline is showing confidence in recovering business by introducing a new service between Dusseldorf and Newark (New York) this month.

ASTA NORTHERN REGIONAL CONFERENCE ΤΟ ΜΕΕΤ ΙΝ ORLANDO, FLORIDA, ΙΝ 2003
The chapters that comprise the Northern Region of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) have selected Orlando, Florida, as the site for their annual conference in May of 2003. The meeting will be centred at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando.
Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities. It boasts 13 theme parks and other entertainments, which help attract some 42 million visitors a year.
In addition to the theme parks there is a wide variety of museums, such as the Mennello Museum of American Folk Art. There is also the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum, which has the world's most comprehensive collection of Tiffany glass.

RAISE FERRY RATES “ΟΝΕ CHILD’S CHOCOLATE”
Hellas Flying Dolphins has announced increases in its fares. These vary from 37 Euro for passage between Rafina and Andros to 1.01 Euro for passage between Piraeus and Vathi.
In an announcement from the company the increase have been compared to the price of a children’s chocolate bar.

OOPS, SORRY, DEPARTMENT!
Hellenic Travelling reported in last month's edition that the King George Hotel on Constitution Square (Syntagma) was to reopen in May. This is true, but in May, 2003.
Facilities at the completely renovated 119-room hotel---shuttered for 14 years---include a Business Center, a Health and Fitness Club, an indoor swimming pool as well as conference and banqueting halls. The rooftop Tudor Restaurant offers clear views of the Acropolis.

DISCOVER ΤΗΕ WORLD MARKETING REPS AZZURRA AIR
AZZURRAair, a growing regional airline headquartered in Milan, Italy, has appointed Discover the World Marketing to handle the sales and marketing of its scheduled services in Denmark, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
“We have made a major corporate decision to promote our own brand while we continue to operate with Alitalia Airlines as a code share marketing partner,” said Dominic Attard, managing director and CEO of AZZURRAair.
“We turned to Discover the World Marketing because of their familiarity with our product and capabilities. And we can count on Discover to help us establish our name in the market.”
Discover the World Marketing's President Derek Shanks said, “Air Malta, a major shareholder of AZZURRAair, is an established client of Discover the World Marketing in Greece so we were already familiar with AZZURRAair and its service. Discover offers AZZURRAair a quality, turn-key solution through our award-winning professionals in six of the 53 Discover country offices to achieve their objective.”

VIRGIN ATLANTIC GENERATES PROFITS
Virgin Atlantic has announced it has generated underlying profits of “around” Τ5 million ($7.3 million) in the three months to April 30 “following the quick and decisive action taken by the airline to restructure its operations in the final quarter of 2001.”
However, Chairman Richard Branson warned that the carrier will report a loss of around Τ90 million for FY2001-02 due to the impact of Sept 11. “Both shareholders, Virgin and Singapore Airlines, are pleased with this performance in these circumstances,” he added. In the prior fiscal year Virgin Atlantic posted a Τ45 million profit.
Separately, Virgin Atlantic said it selected Goodrich to provide cockpit door video surveillance systems for all of its existing Airbus and Boeing aircraft as well as for its new Α340-600s to be delivered this summer. It expects to be able to fit its first 747-400 in June and the fleet should be equipped with CCTV by April 2003. The Goodrich-developed system will provide real-time video monitoring of the cockpit door entry and forward galley area to the flight crew.

US AIRLINE REVENUES DOWN 21% ΙΝ APRIL
US major airline system revenues (excluding Southwest) fell 21.4% in April compared to April 2001, according to Salomon Smith Barney, which cited data from the Air Transport Assn.
The decline compares with a 20.5% drop in March, reflecting in large part the impact of the Easter holidays this year. Domestic revenues--which account for around 75% of the system total--were down 22.7% in April with RASM off 12.8%. The corresponding figures for March were 11.7% and 10.6% respectively.
Transatlantic revenues showed the strongest improvement, down 13.5% versus 19.2% in March. RASM actually posted positive growth for the first time in more than a year, up 1.2% on a 2.4% rise in yield/RPM partially offset by a 0.9-point drop in load factor.
Transpacific performance improved slightly, with April revenues down 22.1% compared to 24.3% in March. For the second consecutive month, RASM growth was positive year-over-year, up 2.4% following on a 2.2% rise in March. The improvement came on a 6.7-point rise in load factor as yield actually declined 6.6%. Latin America revenues slid 17% compared to April 2001, the worst monthly drop since Jan. RASM was off 10.9%, also the worst drop since Jan.

MOST AMERICANS READY ΤΟ TRAVEL
For most Americans, the events of Sept. 11 will have little or no effect on their vacation planning this year, according to the 2002 American Express Leisure Travel Index.
Of those polled, 54% said they will travel at least as much this year as last, and another 25% said they will travel more and 19% said they will travel less. Of those specifically asked if the events of Sept. 11 would affect their vacation plans, 62% said they would not. Forty-four percent of vacationers plan to fly this year, down 2% from last year. Also, the portion that will travel internationally (12%) is down 2%.
Finally, the Internet and other planning sources are gaining in popularity this year; travel agents will be a planning source for 15% of respondents, down from 20% last year.
However, when it is time to book, agents will get the business from 23% of travellers, the same as last year, while the Internet, for the first time, will (at 38%) outpace direct booking with suppliers (at 33%).

ASTA READY ΤΟ WORK WITH FEDERAL COMMISSION
ASTA officials said they are anxious to work with a newly formed national commission on travel agent issues and expect it to uncover “a lot of information.”
Speaking at a press conference during the recent 2002 ASTA Northern Regional, ASTA president Richard Copland said, “We will be getting a lot of information. We [will be] entitled to ask questions. All we want is the facts. [The airlines] don't have control here.”
Three Society members, including Paul Rude, ASTA staff senior vice president, Industry Affairs, were named to the panel, called the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry.
William Maloney, ASTA staff executive vice president, said the airlines “have done everything in their power to raise our costs. There is no escaping that they are trying to put us out of business.”

From My Notebook
Internet travel bookings have reached 65 percent of all travel transactions in the U.S.Α. In Europe the percentage has reached 60 percent. And both percentages are expected to rise further this year. Proportionately travel agency bookings are dropping.
In-flight communication for passengers, particularly e-mail, is being made more feasible through Inmarsat's satellite services. The communications company is adapting its service to ships at sea for aircraft.
New technology is expected to cut flight delays in the U.S. The new system, called User Request Evaluation Tool, is designed to allow pilots to fly more direct routes and at higher altitudes, reducing congestion, and thereby shortening flights.
Last year medical emergencies aloft caused 21 Virgin Atlantic flights to be diverted, at an approximate cost of some $50,000 a time.
More people die during a flight than in air accidents every year.
Some of the so-called ‘low cost’ airlines no longer live up to their billing, having higher fares than ‘regular’ airlines.
There are now an estimated one hundred million ‘frequent flyers’ registered around the world.
The European Stars, newest vessel to join the Festival Cruises fleet, has some unusual features for its passengers---a golf simulator, a mini-golf course and a climbing wall.
Landlocked Hungary, which has a similar population as Greece, has some 30,000,000 visitors every year. Of these about half are one-day visitors, primarily for shopping.
The flow of German tourists to Greece, which was some 2,500,000 recorded in the years 1999 and 2000, with a rise of some 3.6 percent in 2001, is expected to be close to 2.5 million again this year.
International news coverage of the recent influenza ‘epidemic’ in Greece (which closed all schools in the country for two weeks) created much concern about travelling to Greece.
Greece now has well on to one million tourist beds at present.
The next invasion in Greece from the U.S.Α. is to be a chain of Starbuck coffee houses.
The uncertainty of security during the Olympic Games of 2004 is underlined with the signing of Mike Ryan, security head at the Games held in Sydney.
Incidental Intelligence: Women were forbidden to witness the original Olympic Games because the men competed in the nude.
Greece and Turkey, sometime ago rather not too friendly, are getting closer together in many ways. The latest is for a new ferry service being launched between Thessaloniki and Izmir, and a new train schedule between Thessaloniki and Istanbul.
In case you wondered, there are some 3,000 languages (and dialects) that people use to communicate with in this world.
Greeks are getting special attention in some new motion pictures. Actor Tom Hanks and his Greek actress spouse Rita Wilson have produced a new comedy film entitled “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, --- but neither appears in it. Another new Greek-themed film is called “Astoria”, which is set in sector of the Queens borough of New York City called “Little Athens”.
Statistics Department:
There are an estimated ten million people living in Greece. And, there are well over five million automobiles circulating in the country (seemingly primarily, it would appear, mainly about Athens). Believe it or not, one may buy a new automobile in Greece for a mere one Euro down payment!
Α recent survey indicates that only two percent of the population of the U.S.Α. does not have a television, but six percent does not have a bathtub.