Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-03-24

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Poets Against the Crisis

[02] Greek distinction at Beijing travel awards ceremony

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

[04] Culture minister visits antiquities repatriated by Getty Museum

[05] Visitors in museums up, revenues down in Nov. 2011

[06] Urge for action to promote Greek tourism

[07] Trireme 'Olympias' at London Olympics

[08] Music and Democracy in Classical Athens

[09] Chick Corea and Gary Burton to play in Athens

[10] Tourism sector on a 'tight rope'

[11] Tourism sector on a 'tight rope' this year

[12] President optimistic on tourism

[13] Greek presence at major Berlin tourism show

[01] Poets Against the Crisis

The poets' march began at the Ianos bookshop shortly after noon, accompanied by an impromptu band and two performers on stilts.

The main placard was carried by the poet Manolis Tsakiris and the first stop was the National Library, followed by the university, the Athens Academy and finally Syntagma Square.

"When you bow your head, someone else grows taller," said one placard with the signature of Argyris Marneros, which was much photographed by international media covering the demonstration.

Musician Stamatis Kraounakis, incandescent in his diatribe against the country's political class, and the wife of the late poet Nikos Eggonopoulos, Nelli Andrikopoulou, were among the crowd.

[02] Greek distinction at Beijing travel awards ceremony

The event was sponsored by the tourism magazine "Travel & Leisure".

The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius was honored as the best tourism destination for the Chinese market. article entitled "Greece: The Most Fabulous Place for Cruise", published in November 2011 edition of the magazine. www.amna.gr

The prize for the best travel article was awarded to journalist Marco Zoe for his 10-page

The writer's Greek isle cruise was organised by the Greek embassy in China's press & communication office, in cooperation with the Secretariat General of Information and Communication, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and Louis Cruises.

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloudy on Wednesday

Temperatures will range between -3C and 16C.

Cloudy in Athens, with northerly 5-8 beaufort winds and temperatures ranging from 5C to 14C.

Fair in Thessaloniki, with temperatures ranging from 2C to 12C.

[04] Culture minister visits antiquities repatriated by Getty Museum

During the visit, he said that the repatriation of the two ancient artifacts had both practical and symbolic significance.

"They are two wonderful pieces with great value but the symbolism of their return is even more important. It shows the tireless efforts that the State must make in order to ensure that the antiquities that leave this country illegal are returned in every case," he said.

Greece had been aware that the specific two antiquities were in the possession of the Getty Museum since 1975, the minister noted, and a huge effort lasting many years had resulted in their final return.

"I consider that this return sends the message that we will not stop the effort to recover every monument that has been exported from the country illegally, until we secure their return and the punishment of those that stole it," he added.

Geroulanos further pointed out that the deal with the Getty Museum allowed the two sides to exchange knowhow and cooperate in several other ways concerning the preservation of antiquities and their display.

He particularly emphasised that the broken carved relief returned by the Getty would be reunited with a piece at the Kanellopoulos Museum in Athens and that the Getty Museum had also considered it very important for the work to be restored and made whole.

In return, the Getty Museum will display an ancient stele that is currently at the National Archaeological Museum depicting the heroes Hercules and Antiochus.

[05] Visitors in museums up, revenues down in Nov. 2011

A similar picture appears in the archaeological sites around the country in November 2011, with an 26.8 percent rise in visitors and 6.9 percent decline in revenues during the same period.

ELSTAT also said that in the first eleven months of 2011, the number of visitors to museums fell 1.9 percent and revenues were down 5.2 percent against the same period in 2010, while visitors to archaeological sites rose by 17.6 percent and revenues were up by 7.4 percent.

[06] Urge for action to promote Greek tourism

HATTA said the letter with the three UK federations underlines the seriousness of the situation and the necessity to take urgent action. amna

The three UK federations stressed that Greek authorities must urgently take specific actions for the release of money needed to promoe Greece in foreign markets, stressing that the country is a safe destination and has a great deal to offer to every tourist.

They also stressed that Greek officials must launch an ad campaign jointly with tour operators as well as hire a public relations company to help overturn a prevailing view that Greece is not a safe destination. The UK operators noted that unless there is an immediate response, they will be forced to cancel bookings to Greece.

[07] Trireme 'Olympias' at London Olympics

This will be the ship's second appearance in the British capital, following an exhibition held in 1993 to celebrate 2,500 years since the birth of democracy.

Afterward, the ship will embark on a tour of the United States, organised by the company International Advantage Corporation in collaboration with the Hellenic Navy and the defence ministry.

The Navy General Staff announced said the company was carefully chosen through a lengthy evaluation process in order to ensure the necessary guarantees for such a tour.

Completed in July 1987, the "Olympias" is 37 metres long and has a 1.3-metre draught. Its construction was based on plans drawn up by British naval architect John. F. Coates and historian J. S. Morrison.

In the past, it has also been used in the 2004 Olympic Games torch relay to bring the Olympic Torch to Piraeus but, due to high maintenance costs, was put in dry dock on November 25, 2005 where it has remained ever since, technically as a part of the Battleship G. Averoff Naval Museum.

After appearing in London, the "Olympias" is scheduled to be transported to the United States, premiering with its arrival at historic York Town and beginning its tour in Norfolk and Jamestown, Virginia. It will also visit Annapolis in Maryland and then be the centerpiece of the US Navy's 236th birthday celebration in Washington D.C. The final stop will be New York City, where the tour will finish with a send-off gala to be held on Veterans Day.

The ship's tour - a collaboration between America and Greece - will portray the Trireme 'Olympias' as the symbol of democracy and freedom, one of the major contributions of the Greek people to the world.

[08] Music and Democracy in Classical Athens

The exhibition is separated into three parts. The first presents the mythical heroes Theseus, Hercules, Achilles and Paris as the models of the musically educated hero and the music education of the young as a component of the formation of the future Athenian citizen as well as the role of music in physical exercise. amna

The second part refers to events held by Classical Athens in which the city's youth participated, such as the major religious feasts (Panathinaia and Dionyssia), music competitions and theatre.

Finally the third part presents the musically educated Athenian and the educated woman of Classical Athens. amna

The exhibition is organised by the Hellenic Parliament Foundation. Entrance to the exhibition, which will be open daily except on holidays, is free to the public.

[09] Chick Corea and Gary Burton to play in Athens

The concert is part of the Corea/Burton 'Duets' tour, presenting material from their new album "Hot House" and their unique takes on standards by composers from Kurt Weill and Antonio Carlos Jobim to Thelonious Monk to Lennon & McCartney.

[10] Tourism sector on a 'tight rope'

Speaking to reporters, the minister referred to the recent international tourism fair in Berlin, saying there was a tide of negative publicity against Greece, while he stressed that early bookings from Germany were down 30 pct and 10 pct from the UK so far this year. These figures represent losses of around one million tourists for the country, he added.

Geroulanos said the ministry was preparing a strong response, aimed to reverse the negative climate by hiring two communications firms for the markets of Germany and UK.

He noted that there was enough time to change the situation and announced that Greek officials will begin joint ad programmes with large international tour operators.

A focus on new markets, such as Russia, Israel, China, will aim to counterbalance losses from traditional market-targets.

[11] Tourism sector on a 'tight rope' this year

Speaking to reporters, the minister referred to the recent international tourism fair in Berlin, saying there was a tide of negative publicity against Greece, while he stressed that early bookings from Germany were down 30 pct and 10 pct from the UK so far this year. These figures represent losses of around one million tourists for the country, he added.

Geroulanos said the ministry was preparing a strong response, aimed to reverse the negative climate by hiring two communications firms for the markets of Germany and UK.

He noted that there was enough time to change the situation and announced that Greek officials will begin joint ad programmes with large international tour operators.

A focus on new markets, such as Russia, Israel, China, will aim to counterbalance losses from traditional market-targets. amna

[12] President optimistic on tourism

In a brief statement as he received culture and tourism minister Pavlos Geroulanos, Papoulias said that the negative climate for Greece that was cultivated in 2011 by the mass media globally did not stop 16.5 million tourists from visiting the country last year.

Geroulanos, who visited Berlin last week, told Papoulias that the climate for Greece was not good in Germany and that many Germans were fearful of visiting the country because they do not know what their reception will be.

[13] Greek presence at major Berlin tourism show

The Greek delegation gave a press conference on Thursday, whereas interviews were given to major German and international media, along with contacts with travel agents and meetings with tourist industry officials.

The ITB 2012, with more than 10,000 exhibitors from 187 countries and more than 110,000 visitors from all over the world, constitutes a leading exhibition for the tourism sector worldwide.

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