Greece lands tourism prize in Shanghai March 29, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Tourism.Tags: Destinations, Greece, Greek Islands, News, Tourism
comments closed
Greece has been chosen as the “Most Popular Travel Destination in Europe 2007-08” by China, proving that efforts to tap the Chinese tourism market are bearing fruit.
Speaking at the opening of the World Travel Fair 2008 in Shanghai, where Greece is the honored country, Tourism Development Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos recognized the importance for Greece of the tourist market of Shanghai, as 600,000 of its citizens travel abroad every year.
“Representing a country that organized the 2004 Olympic Games with absolute success,” Spiliotopoulos reiterated his certainty that China will be as successful in holding the 2008 Olympics. He also expressed his hope for the best possible cooperation between Greece and China “in the fields of economy and culture.”
The WTF began on Thursday and ends tomorrow. It features 500 exhibitors from various countries and territories, while Greece’s kiosk by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) covers an area of 400 square meters. On Thursday, the WTF awards committee delivered an award to the Greek representation for the most popular destination in Europe. Yesterday, the signing of a protocol of cooperation between the GNTO and Shanghai was also due.
Related Links > http://www.gnto.gr
Greece improves tourism ties with Moscow March 21, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Tourism.Tags: Destinations, Greece, Greek Islands, News, Tourism, Travel
comments closed
Greece’s Tourism Development Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos had a very cordial meeting with Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov in Russia.
Greece and the local authority of Moscow will sign a memorandum of cooperation in tourism probably in May, as agreed to yesterday by Tourism Development Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. It follows a proposal by the Greek Minister which surprised Luzkov during the meeting held by the two men in the Russian capital, in the context of Spiliotopoulos’s visit to the international tourism exhibition MITT.
The Minister said tourism is Greece’s heavy industry, generating 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. But sea and the sun alone, he added, are not enough, for attracting visitors requires hard work, great effort, education and a strategy.
On the problem arising from the visas that Russians must obtain to visit Greece, Spiliotopoulos said it would be better if they were not required. He did however stress the rapid and efficient processing of applications with the Consulate in Moscow, which issues as many as 3,000 daily, delivered within 48 hours, while the Consulate in St Petersburg has them delivered the same day. Luzhkov thanked the Greek Embassy and Consulate for making it easier for his compatriots, while promising to do what he can to reduce bureaucracy for Greeks who wish to visit Russia.
Last year some 235,000 Russians visited Greece according to data from the Russian Tourism Organization. The Russian official accepted Spiliotopoulos’s proposal for Greek investors with expertise in building hotels and infrastructure to become active in Moscow and around the Black Sea, adding that there are at least 120 suitable plots in his city waiting to be utilized.
Spiliotopoulos also announced the tripling of funds for the promotion of Greek tourism in the Russian market this year, rising to 1 million euro from 350,000 spent last year. The Minister further invited Russian businesses and groups to invest in Greece, making special reference to the programs available through the Tourism Development Company for the utilization of public tourism property.
Greece to be featured at the Nye Beach Gallery March 16, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Greece Islands Aegean, Hellenic Light Americas.Tags: Arts, Exhibitions, Greece, Greek Islands, Greek Wine, Hellenic Light, Travel
comments closed
Hillside buildings at Fira, Santorini. Typical architecture on the island begins in caves and extends outward to terraces overlooking smaller islands of the volcanic crater.
Photographs of the Greek Islands and the Acropolis by Elizabeth Atly will be on exhibit at the Nye Beach Gallery and paired with a Greek wine tasting featuring Santorini wines for the gallery’s weekly wine tasting. An artist’s reception will be held at the same time, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, March 15. Nye Beach Gallery is located at 715 NW Third St. Atly’s exhibit will be on display through the month of March.
Through several vocations as a French professor, residential designer/architectural historian, and filmmaker, Atly, who recently transplanted from Portland to Newport, has avidly pursued the avocation of photography, with occasional one-artist shows and inclusion in group shows.
The photographs on exhibit at the Nye Beach Gallery were taken in Greece in 1996.
Santorini is the only volcanic island in the Aegean, said by locals to be the site of the sunken city of Atlantis. Prior to visiting the island, Atly considered only black and white photography, nurtured to life in the darkroom to become “art.”
On a walk through the colorful Fira neighborhood the morning after embarking from the ferry, Atly returned to her room and put away the black and white film. This show is a result of that decision.
Atly is a founding member of the For ARTSAKE Gallery, soon to be open at 258 NW Coast St. in Nye Beach. Her work and that of the nine other For ARTSAKE members will be on display at the new gallery. Watch for opening information.
The first thing you notice about Santorini is the whiteness of the buildings, all massed on the ridges of the crescent-shaped island, with green and rocky hills and fields between the villages. Just as the white shapes up close reveal a kaleidoscope mingling subtle and outrageous color, the fields reveal various phenomena. Olive trees and even prickly pear cactus grow, seemingly out of rock, and in springtime, one sees fields on rolling hills, full of what appear to be crowns of thorns. These are the starts of the grape vines from which the remarkable Santorini wines are cultivated. Training them into circular patterns on the ground protects the starts from the harsh winds that can tear through these islands.
Santorini cuisine for the traveler on a budget consists of variations of souvlaki, chicken and potatoes roasted together, Greek salads and spaghetti cooked in a thinner tomato sauce than its Italian counterpart, subtly spiced with bail. Lobster and other seafoods are plentiful, served up with orzo pasta and local seasonal vegetables; and what would a Greek meal be without olives, feta, olive oil, Greek bread, all accompanied by ouzo, or retsina, or best of all, one of the delicious Santorini wines.
For more information contact Wendy Engler at the Nye Beach Gallery at 265-3292.
Greek tourism on E!Entertainment March 16, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Tourism.Tags: Destinations, Greece, Greek Islands, News, Tourism, Travel
comments closed
Greece’s Tourism Development Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) signed a cooperation agreement with the E!Entertainment international network serving the sector of entertainment on a 24-hour basis.
The one-year agreement provides for the promotion of Greece’s new tourism advertising campaign at a European level both on television and the internet, while guaranteeing the GNTO presence in “red carpet” high-level events such as, the film festivals of Cannes and Rome. Moreover, the GNTO will be the main sponsor of the UK, France, Italy and Germany E!Entertainment websites.
Related Links > http://www.gnto.gr
Ithaca was Homeric land of Odysseus March 15, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Archaeology Greece, Culture History Mythology.Tags: Archaeology Greece, Culture, Greece, Greek Islands, History, Mythology, News
comments closed
Study refutes Cephalonia theory > Greeks yesterday hailed a new study showing the modern-day island of Ithaca is the same as that of Homer’s legendary hero Odysseus, rejecting a recent British theory that pointed to a nearby island.
British researchers last year claimed they had solved an intriguing classical puzzle, saying the Kingdom of Ithaca was located on another Ionian island, further west. «This new study shows how wrong and inaccurate the British theory is» Ithaca councilor and former island Mayor Spyros Arsenis told Reuters of the study conducted by Greek geology professors and other scientists over eight months. Arsenis also heads the island’s Friends of Homer Society.
The British study, which suggested that Homer’s Ithaca was actually part of what is modern-day Cephalonia, had enraged islanders who are fiercely proud of their renowned ancestor, the wiliest of the ancient Greek writer’s epic heroes.
The British team suggested that drilling showed the Paliki peninsula on Cephalonia may have once been an island and that it better matched Homer’s description of the homeland which Odysseus left behind to fight in the Trojan War. «The new Greek study shows… the geological formations could not have been formed in just 3,000 years and there is no evidence of any sea channel» Arsenis said.
The study will be officially presented next week. The island’s local council also welcomed the results. «This study rules out once and for all the theory that the Paliki peninsula was once a separate island. It is a slap in the face for the British researchers» it said in a statement.
Finding ancient Ithaca could rival the discoveries in the 1870s of ancient Troy on Turkey’s Aegean coast and the mask of Agamemnon, who led the Greek forces against the Trojans. No one knows for certain whether Odysseus or his city really existed.
The discovery of the ruins of Troy, where Odysseus, Achilles, Paris, Menelaus and other Greek heroes did battle, has led scholars to believe there is more to Homer’s tales than just legend.
Dodecanese annexation anniversary events March 8, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Greece News, Greek Culture Heritage.Tags: Greece, Greek Islands, News
comments closed
The 60th anniversary of the annexation of the Dodecanese islands in the southeastern Aegean with Greece was celebrated on Friday with a traditional parade through the city of Rhodes, while similar events took in several Municipalities on the eponymous holiday island.
The Greek government was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Valinakis, who’s election district is in the Dodecanese, while Merchant Marine & Island Policy Deputy Minister Panayotis Kammenos attended events on the island of Kos.
Greece still one of Europe’s foremost tourist destinations March 7, 2008
Posted by grhomeboy in Tourism.Tags: Destinations, Greece, Greek Islands, News, Tourism, Travel
comments closed
Greece enters the new tourism season as one of the most popular destinations in the world’s biggest markets, Tourism Development Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos told a press conference here yesterday.
Speaking on the sidelines of a major tourism exhibition which is taking place in Germany, Spiliotopoulos said Greece is the second most popular destination among 80 according to data compiled by the International Federation of Tour Operators. In the German market alone, a survey by tour operator TUI shows Greece to be the most attractive country worldwide, while another joint survey by the European Cruise Council, Euroyards and Medcruise & Europe ranked the country third in the list of the most popular cruise destinations in Europe, behind Italy and Spain.
The course of Greek tourism, said the Minister, is linked to culture and sports, as well as to environmental awareness. There is also emphasis on developing so-called green tourism, with pilot actions at tourism destinations across the country in association with local authorities.
Efforts in this context also include the formulation of a pioneering program of tourism development aimed at protecting the environment, through the creation of eco-camping grounds and eco-marinas, and a series of innovative actions such as special routes, kiosks and observation towers.
Spiliotopoulos said camping sites at Skotina, Asprovalta, Paliouri and Phanari in Northern Greece will be upgraded with more environmentally friendly facilities, while an ecological marina will also be created at Paliouri in Halkidiki.
The upgrading of regional airports continues meanwhile, in cooperation with the Transport Ministry and the assistance of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE). “In a few years’ time,” Spiliotopoulos said, “we will have an ultramodern airport at Kastelli in Crete.” Most international airports in the country are being upgraded, while the airports of Araxos, Nea Anchialos and Kalamata are now also receiving international flights for the April-October period each year.
The Ministry has funds available from the European Union totaling 564 million, which will be used to upgrade the quality of the country’s tourism product.
HomeboyMediaNews 