Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-05

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Preliminary data show increase in tourist arrivals, bookings in 2016, says minister

[02] Chinese premier presents PM Tsipras with a bicycle

[03] ND spox on Greek referendum: 'Today marks a year since the Greek people were deceived'

[04] Refugee crisis extracts heavy toll on Lesvos tourist industry as arrivals plummet

[01] Preliminary data show increase in tourist arrivals, bookings in 2016, says minister

The minister said the completion of the program review offers a point of reference to readapt and reconstruct the Greek tourism product on a new basis, with large and small investments.

"We send a clear signal towards lengthening the tourist season, developing specialized forms of tourism and promoting new tourist destinations, while it is also an opportunity for major reforms in the fields of tourism education and the simplification and codification of tourism legislation," Kountoura told journalists.

Information collected so far shows bookings have increased between 4 to 30 pct in key markets, while international arrivals grew 5 pct in the first five months of the year.

Concerning Russia, the aim is for visitors to exceed one million in 2016, Kountoura said, adding the ministry has signed deals with six largest tour operators in the country. On the European market, the minister said last minute reservations are expected to reach more than 20 pct compared with last year. She also noted that the next target is to reach the Indian and South American markets.

On China, she presented a plan for cooperation in tourism, noting efforts are being made to add direct flights throughout the year. The ministry also places a lot of emphasis on the Middle East markets, with Kountoura saying that the United Arab Emirates set the trend in the region, which is why efforts are being made to expand cooperation with local travel agents.

[02] Chinese premier presents PM Tsipras with a bicycle

"Our relation with China is like a bicycle. One wheel is economic cooperation and the other, cooperation in culture and education. We are the cyclists who will develop our two countries," Tsipras said.

The Greek leader will visit Shanghai where he will meet with the presidents of online retail giant Alibaba, COSCO, research and development center ZTE and investment firm Fosun, as well as with other businessmen. He will then meet the Shanghai's mayor Yang Xiong and visit the city's museum. After these meetings, Tsipras will conclude his official visit to China.

[03] ND spox on Greek referendum: 'Today marks a year since the Greek people were deceived'

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, party spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos described the referendum as a "monument to unreliability and irresponsibility" which cost dearly to Greeks.

"They knew all about it in the government. Mr. Tsipras was planning other things, requested other things and did other things. When people said 'No', he accepted the harsher proposals of the creditors," Koumoutsakis said.

"It's a crime because it cost dozens of billions [of euros]. It's a conscious crime. They knew its consequences. The available evidence is staggering," he added and referred to a book by American economist James Galbraith, "Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice", in which the writer said former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had prepared a plan that foresaw declaring a state of emergency and transforming bank deposits into a new Drachma.

[04] Refugee crisis extracts heavy toll on Lesvos tourist industry as arrivals plummet

After the floods of refugees and migrants washing up on its beaches, littering its shores with garish orange life jackets as they passed through on their way to Europe - and the iconic images of the unfolding crisis that filled the global media - arrivals of European tourists have plummetted to just a fraction of last year's levels.

According to figures released by Mytilene airport, passenger arrivals in June 2016 dropped to just 4,825, down from 15,026 in the same month last year, for a decline of 67.89 pct and an estimated loss of revenues of about six million euros. The drop in arrivals was attributed directly to the migration crisis, with troubled tourists selecting alternative destinations in the country.

In the first quarter of the 2016 tourism season, from April until June, there were a total of 9,904 arrivals, roughly a third of the 29,106 that arrived in the same period in 2015. If the trend continues until October, the island will have lost an estimated 55,000 tourists that stayed an average of nine nights each, or 495,000 stays in total.

According to a study by the Lesvos Hoteliers' Union, this will deal a severe blow to the island's tourism industry since each lost stay translates to the loss of 1.5-2 day's wages and between five and six kilos of fish and agricultural products consumed.

A small ray of hope amid a generally gloomy picture has been a rise in the number of flights from the Netherlands and Denmark, though this is not enough to offset the huge losses, hoteliers said.

Hotel owners and travel agencies said they intend to push for a series of relief measures to minimise the damage to their businesses, such as lower utility rates, tax breaks, special winter prices and others.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article