Greek Tourism – Oswiadczenie Greckiej Minister Kultury i Turystyki Tatiany Karapanagioti – Statement by Minister of Culture and Tourism Tatiana Karapanagioti (Athens, 22/5/2012)

Niedawno mianowana Grecka Minister Kultury i Turystyki, Tatiana Karapanagioti, wydała to oświadczenie w następstwie odprawy Premiera Panagiotisa Pikrammenosa, tymczasowego przewodniczącego rządu.
„Grecja jest tutaj tak jak zawsze była i tak jak zawsze będzie, oferując turystom unikalne przeżycia podróżnicze. Nasz kraj jest piękny, a dziedzictwo kulturowe bogate jak wcześniej.
Nic się nie zmieniło, przynajmniej w legendarnej greckiej gościnności, która przyjęła miliony odwiedzających przez lata, włączając rekordową ilość16,5 miliona w 2011 roku.
Odbyłam rozległe dyskusje z przewodnimi stowarzyszeniami branży turystycznej. Każdy wyraził silne zaangażowanie by zapewnić, że wakacyjne doznania w Grecji są tak bogate i satysfakcjonujące jak zawsze były.
Grecja jest tak ponadczasowa jak i serdeczne powitanie greków. W ten sposób zawsze było – i 2012 rok nie będzie wyjątkiem.”
Greece is offering tourists a unique travel experience, with its beautiful land and rich cultural heritage, said interim Culture and Tourism minister Tatiana Karapanagioti, following a meeting with Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos, on May 22. After noting the legendary Greek hospitality, which has embraced millions of visitors over the years, the minister assured that everyone in the tourism industry has expressed a strong commitment to ensuring that the Greek holiday experience is as rich and rewarding as it has always been.

Prime Minister Pikrammenos also met with Dr. Andreas Andreadis, President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) and discussed the effects of Greece’s economic crisis on tourism. The SETE president assured the PM that the quality of holidays in Greece is not affected by the economic upheaval in any way, highlighting that the country remains one of the most desired destinations worldwide and this summer will be “business as usual.”

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2010: 34.000 Foreign Media News Items on Greek Crisis

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) together with the Association of Greek Press Attaches hosted a conference on Foreign Media and Greece’s country image in the economic crisis on May 31. 
According to statistical figures presented, in 2010 only, foreign media from 28 countries reported on the Greek economic crisis publishing 34,000 news items, which represents 60% of the total amount of news items on Greece altogether for the year.
Britain was the country with the most copious reports on Greece in general and the London Financial Times was the newspaper, which covered the economic crisis more frequently and extensively, at a global level.
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

Foreign Media and Greece`s Country Image in the Economic Crisis

On May 31, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) together with the Association of Greek Press Attaches is hosting a conference on Foreign Media and Greece’s country image in the economic crisis.
The event will be held at the premises of the Secretariat General of Information in Athens. The conference will be addressed by the General Director of the Greek Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) Yannis Stournaras, the General Director of the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Martin Knapp, journalist Maria Houkli, French media correspondent, Alexia Kefalas and Bodossakis Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, George Tzogopoulos.
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

PM George Papandreou in “Foreign Policy” Magazine

Prime Minister George Papandreou in an in-depth interview in the American magazine Foreign Policy (July 19) explained the reasons behind the crisis and the measures taken by his government in order to tackle it.

He stressed that with the support of the European Union, Greece decided against defaulting, which would cause insurmountable problems especially for the banking institutions in Greece and Europe alike.

He recognized that there was a lack of transparency; there was a lot of money that was lost, wasted, through a huge bureaucracy and patronage. Nevertheless, he highlighted that “we’re committed to changing the situation.

My government, for example, has now brought in laws such as total transparency in all signatures in the public sector, putting more and more tax reform resources and contracts online.”

The premier empathised with Greeks’ sentiments of unhappiness and pain, but “the wide majority of the people realize that we needed to make changes that were long overdue in our country, such as making governance much more responsible, and running the country much more transparent.”

Finally, he debunked recent media stereotypes of Greeks being lazy and concluded saying that: “we’ve seen in this crisis is that we need more Europe, not less…[ ]

…We need to find global governance and we need to find it based on some common values on which we can agree – democratic values.”

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

Stability programme on “the right track”

The team of experts from the so-called “troika” (European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank), after completing their monitoring of the progress of the stability programme, said that the latter is “on track on all of the dimensions.”
 The government is ahead of the deficit reduction target set in the plan for this year and tax hikes are boosting revenues, according to the team.
The government is also making progress on more long-term economic reforms, which can help its future finances, they added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister George Papandreou, who attended the European Union Summit in Brussels yesterday, underlined that “his government is determined to go ahead with important and difficult reforms,” in order to put the country on the right path for achieving its goals. 
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

“You in Greece” campaign – Facts about Greece

  Facts about Greece

· Greece is a safe country

Supportive data: According to Legatum Prosperity Index, Greece faces comparatively few security challenges. Domestic security is favorable. Moreover, according to Eurostat, Greece is a country with a relatively low rate of criminality. The feeling of security is well established in society.
· Greece is an attractive destination.
This comes not only due to its physical beauty but mostly due to the “value for money” relationship in the provided services.
Supportive data: According to a poll, conducted in a population of 1200 people,52% of the sample believes that the quality of travel services offered in Greece are of very good standard and 42% believes that the travel services offered in Greece rival those offered in other touristdeveloped tourist markets.

· Greece is a western democracy and the majority of Greek society supports government policy.
Supportive data: A recent research conducted by Kapa Focus research company on behalf of the weekly Newspaper ‘To Vima’, shows that 55,2% of Greeks support the austerity measures imposed by the Greek Government.
·  Demonstrations are strictly local and limited events/occurrences. They take place mostly in the center of Athens, in a specific and controlled area. The mainland regions and the islands of the Greek Archipelago, where the vast majority of tourists go, are not affected at all.
Supportive data: According to Eurostat, Greece is a favourite destination. Especially, in South Aegean and Ionian Islands, it appears that 48.168 stays and 33.304 per 1000 citizens took place, a proof of satisfaction for the Greek touristic product.
· Greece is a tourist country and Greeks know the importance of hospitality.
Supportive data: Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods, according to the Greek Mythology, named as Xenios (the one who offers hospitality) Zeus.
·  The overall number of demonstrations in Greece is lower than the E.U average.
Supportive data:All demonstrations occurred in Athens, in specific and isolated areas. In their vast majority they were peaceful.

· The picture that global media paint is, to say the least, in many cases exaggerating. In many occasions, library images were re-broadcasted as live feeds.
Supportive data: Greece is a pluralist, democratic western European country. Media freedom is protected and encouraged. During the last two weeks Greece hosted more than 300 foreign journalists.
(Greek National Tourism Organisation)

PM George Papandreou Interview at “Politique Internationale”

Few countries have suffered from the global economic crisis as much as Greece. Not only did it feel the full force of the financial earthquake, but it also found itself under attack by international speculators. Today, as the IMF and the European Union prepare to help, the country is licking its wounds and trying to understand how things got so bad. George Papandreou is not the last to ask the question. Elected prime minister in October 2009, the leader of the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) is fiercely critical of the previous center-right New Democracy administration, which he believes is guilty of setting up a system of cronyism and of knowingly underestimating the public debt and budget deficit. But the new head of government is an energetic man. In this exclusive interview, he outlines his strategy for resolving his country’s daunting problems. http://www.politiqueinternationale.com/revue/article.php?id_revue=127&id=901&content=synopsis

Tourism campaign “You in Greece”

Greek tourism is about to be given an image boost – through the launch of the latest advertising campaign “You in Greece.”
The campaign aims to promote the country as an attractive tourist destination, but also provide the media with useful statistics on tourism, while shedding light on little known information regarding this year’s tourism prospects.
Visit Greece at: www.visitgreece.gr

This Summer, We Travel to Greece
Another goal is to appeal to the Greek Diaspora to visit and promote Greece abroad.

A two-month campaign has been launched under the motto “This Summer We Travel to Greece” by the bilingual Greek-American newspaper “Greek News” addressed to the Diaspora Greeks, and philhellenes.

2010 Reasons to Visit Greece

The exhibition titled “2010 reasons to visit Greece” is taking place once again at London’s Harrods department store. The Secretary – General of the World Tourism Organisation, Taleb Rifai, called Greece “one of the most important destinations in the world and a point of reference for us all.”

So Far Yet So Close

Boundaries in the Chinese market seem to be lifted one by one as increasingly more Chinese explore Greece every year.

Last year, 48 million Chinese travelled abroad but only one million visited Europe.
Chinese tour operators expect this number to increase in the future, stressing that Greece should consider capitalizing on educational tourism.
Visit Greece: “Kalimera” (Good morning)
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

7th Thessaloniki International Book Fair

The National Book Centre of Greece (EKEBI) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in collaboration with HELEXPO and the Hellenic Federation of Publishers and Booksellers are organising the 7th Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF) from April 22 to 25, with “Antiquity and Us” as this year’s theme.
TIBF is the leading cultural event for books in Greece which has managed over the years to become a focal point for the book world in Greece and the wider Balkan and Mediterranean region.
Thirty countries will be represented in this year’s fair which features more than 100 events: Greek and foreign authors as guest speakers, special features, seminars and workshops.
China will be the country of honour. Over 200 Chinese (publishers, authors, artists, government representatives) will be in Thessaloniki to present China’s immense book market but also a country with a rich tradition and history.
Greek News Agenda (30.5.2008) – Special Issue: Thessaloniki – City of Culture

Schiniathlon: Multisport in Greece

Multisport is a family of athletic competitions in which athletes race in a continuous series of stages or “legs,” and rapidly switch from one discipline to another in order to achieve the best overall time. Most multisport events are endurance races, consisting of aerobic activities such as cycling, running, kayaking and cross-country skiing. Greece happens to be the ultimate ideal environment for the practice of such a sport. Schiniathlon (www.schiniathlon.gr), Greece’s main multisport events, are settled in a cycle of three events per year: Spring – Autumn – Winter. The next Winter Schiniathlon will take place on  January 25th, 2009 with more fun and challenges for all of you! The event takes place at Schinias bay, Marathonas area, near Athens.

Digital Greece: A Leap Forward

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The European Commission has presented the results of the i2010 mid term review (April 2008). Regarding Greece, the review notes: “Strong policy commitment, notably the National Digital Strategy (2006-2013), has lead to a stable improvement of most benchmarking indicators.” However, despite this, the information society in Greece is still lagging behind in comparison to general developments in the EU. In January 2008, broadband penetration reached 9.1% after significant growth, even though this is still far below EU average. The “National Digital Strategy (2006-2013)” has set ambitious objectives to stimulate the growth of broadband markets and align Greece to the EU average by 2010. Greece has made significant advancement over the last year in fully-online availabilityand is steadily closing the gap with the EU average. These improvements have been equally balanced between services to citizens and to businesses though both remain below the EU average.  Commission of the European Communities: Country Profiles – Greece (p.25); Information Society in Greece: Digital Strategy (2006 – 2013)