August 2003

Hoteliers meet to discuss royalties issue
The Union of Attica Hoteliers (EXA) met recently to discuss the issue of royalty payments to composers and singers ahead of lawsuits filed against some hotels by the intellectual property rights association, AEPI. The hoteliers have assigned legal counsel too the case and expect to brief members on the issue in early September.
EXA, meantime, also said it had filed a petition with the Development Minister regarding the change in the depreciation coefficient for hotels.

ROC sees trend towards Mediterranean Cruises
Gabriel Diacakis, vice president of Royal Olympia Cruises, said his company saw a trend towards cruise holidays in the Mediterranean as the Europe bounces out of the economic recession and the European Union enlarges.
"The EU is an incredible market on its own without counting countries outside the Union visiting in. Middle East countries are slowly increasing in giving us cruise passengers, India is becoming a great cruise market and soon China will surprise us all. We're opening up the Chinese market and investing in this great country," he said in an inteview with Travel News Europe published in August. "Of course the best possible development for the future in cruising will be a peaceful settlement of the Mid East situation...There's nowhere a more beautiful and more interesting cruise area than the Eastern Mediterranean. With peace there we'll experience a boom in cruise holiday travel. Peace is the number one element here.
He said ROC’s recent acquisition of two new state-of-the-art cruise vessels, the Olympia Voyager and the Olympia Explorer, from Germany, Blohm & Voss, now allows the company to complete in seven days cruise itineraries that require 10 or 11 days on other vessels.
"A most positive development for us, a Greek flagship company, is the Athens 2004 Olympic Games next year. We expect a very, very good season in cruising and in hoteling, as we were able to charter for the duration of the Olympic Games 4 (four) of our ships and for 2 or 3 more we are still negotiating," he said.
Diacakis said Italy, France, and Germany have been great markets for Royal Olympia Cruises in 2003 with an average increase of over 25 pecent. "We take passengers now from Venice, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Nice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dover where a few years back 90 percent of our summer schedule was out and in Piraeus. The redeployment helped us produce a very healthy increase in 2003," he added.
The company's most popular cruise is the four-day Aegean Classic, which includes Myconos, Santorini, Crete, Patmos, and Rhodes, plus a Kusadasi visit. The second most popular cruise is the seven-day Grand Mediterranean from Venice, with port calls in Dubrovnik, Katakolo (Olympia), Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Piraeus, and Istanbul.

Hotel occupancy in Attica down 16 percent over 2002
Hotels in greater Athens have reported sharply reduced occupancy rates in June compared to the same month the previous year.
In the luxury category, occupancy rates were at 39.86 percent compared to 59.09 percent in June 2002, while A Class occupancy rates fell from 66.60 percent in 2002 to 59.19 percent this June. Drops were also noted in all other accommodation categories, except D Class hotels where occupancy rates rose from 23.16 percent last June to 24.60 percent this year.

64th Skal world congress
The 64th Skal World Congress will be held in Chennai, India from 19 to 24 October 2003.
Chennai is the new name for Madras, situated in the South East of India. Full details on the Congress can be found on the Skal International website www.skal.org go to Congress and then to Chennai. There you will find the programme for the Congress. the registration form, details of the pre and post tours and a map of Chennai. There are also details of Airline discounts.

From my notebook. By Connie Soloyanis
*The British are back. Overcoming the fear of flying and a down economy, the British are back in Greece with the same numbers as last year, possibly over three million by the end of this season, according to the HNTO.
*Interesting to note that the island republic of Cyprus has become the top choice for holiday-makers in the United Kingdom.
*The rhubarb of Italian criticism of German Tourists, which caused prime minister Gerhard Shroeder to cancel his holiday in Italy, is having some Germans switching their planned holidays in Italy to Greece.
*On the negative side it is now ΤofficialΥ (thanks to international surveys) that Athens can be more expensive than other cities of Europe, i.e Paris, London, etc. The 70-plus Euro airport tax at Athens Airport is also proving to be a specific deterrent, especially for the bargain holiday seekers. The Athens area is the big loser.
*Hotel income in Greece has plummeted somewhat with the slump in tourism, but hotel workers income has increased.
*One sector of tourism in Greece which reportedly is not slumping, is small boat charters, which seem to be thriving (with supposedly regular clients).
*In the United Kingdom special ΤbargainsΥ in last minute booked holidays have reached a low of 79 pounds sterling for a week in Crete and 98 on Santorini, and 109 on the island of Kefalonia.
*Jordan has become a new popular destination for Europeans, whatwith offerings of seven nights in 4 star hotels, plus charter air transportation, for 300 Euros.
*The HNTO claims that charter flights to some 19 destinations within Greece are down a mere 36,624 passengers from last year to this.
*There are also claims that tourism to Greece is up overall at some 12 percent, while neighbor Turkey is down by 27 percent.
*Several countries seriously affected by downward turns in tourism income and considering to follow the lead of Nepal in waving visa entry fees for tourists.
*While several major airlines are undergoing drastic cost-cutting programs, low-cost air carriers are expanding their fleets. EasyJet has 120 airbus A 320s on order; Ryanair has 125 Boeing 737s, with options for another 125, and AirTran (based in Orlando, Florida) has 50 Boeing 737s on order.
*Slow and low bookings in the early season are blamed on ‘greedy Greeks’ by the British press.
*Another factor in increasing costs of holidays are the costs of passports, now for Brits 35 pounds, Americans $85. In addition visa requirements, such as in the U.S.A. have become more stringent (in ‘combating’ would-be terrorism) discouraging incoming tourism.
*Within the U.S.A. the city of Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, is enjoying a ‘healthy’ revival of tourism, mostly from within the U.S.
*Incidental Intelligence:
The average number of people airborne over the U.S.A. at any given time is 61,000.
*If you have been following the gay side of religion, be apprised that one estimate (unofficial) from the Vatican is that some 25 percent of Catholic priests under the age of 35 are said to be gay, with half of them sexually active.
*Wisdom Department:
A clear conscience heraids a poor memory.
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience, of course, comes from bad judgement.
Experience is a positive force. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
The only thing negative about doing nothing is that you never know when you are finished.