Greece Tops Austrian Travelers’ Wish List for 2017

Greece is a favorite destination for Austrian holidaymakers judging by their pre-bookings which are up by 60 percent for the summer ahead, TUI Austria CEO Lisa Weddig said on Tuesday during a presentation in Vienna, of the group’s 2017 program.

Greece destinations Crete, Corfu and Rhodes are at the top of Austrian travelers’ wish lists, according to Weddig, with Kos also regaining lost ground – bookings there have double compared to last year.

To meet the demand, TUI Austria, a member of TUI Group, announced last week that it had boosted its flights to the four Greek islands by 15 percent.


Greece is the leading European destination of choice for a second year running, followed by Spain, Italy, Croatia and Egypt, Wedding said, adding that Turkey on the other hand is seeing last year’s dramatic 40 percent decline drop even further.

Weddig added that the company’s turnover for 2016 grew by 30 percent.
(gtp)

Photo of the day: wintertime at Plakias..

It may be the middle of January, wet and cold, but that doesn't mean we don't have sunny days!

http://www.plakiassuites.com/

Plakias Suites: #1 of 49 Specialty Lodging in Plakias, Rethymno Crete.

Plakias Suites (5.0 of 5 stars) Ranked 1 of 49 Specialty Lodging in Plakias according the popular travel site TripAdvisor 

Having already received the prize Certificate of Excellence with 103 Reviews.

9 out of 10 tourists like Greece, GTO survey shows

According to a survey conducted by the Greek Tourist Organisation (GTO-EOT), 9 out of 10 foreign visitors to Greece say they are pleased with their stay in the country. The survey, which was was carried out by QED Market Research on a sample of 2,179 people at 13 entry points in Greece on behalf of the GTO, showed that a vast majority of the respondents rated their experience in Greece as either very good or excellent.
The survey was conducted between October 12 and 24 and involved personal interviews with male and female tourists aged from 20 to 60 at 10 Greek airports. 36% of those entering Greece via airports said their stay in Greece exceeded their expectations, compared to 31% of road tourists.
6 out of 10 responded they would probably recommend Greece as a tourist destination, while over half said they would return to Greece. The average stay of visitors entering Greece via airports was 8.2 days, while road tourists stayed just under 3 days.
The main reasons for choosing Greece as a holiday destination were the mild weather, the affordable cost and fewer people during Autumn over other competing destinations.
 6 out of 10 air tourists says the sun, sea and gastronomy were their main reasons for picking Greece, while half said they liked Greece for the hospitality and the natural beauty of the country.
Half of the road visitors mentioned the food and shopping for their reasons, while 9 of 10 air tourists and 6 of 10 road tourists said they visited Greece in Autumn for recreational reasons.
Finally, culture is also considered as an important factor for visitors to choose Greece.

We wish you Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Greece Set to Gain in 2017 as Safe Destination

Greece is expected to gain from the instability in the wider Mediterranean region with pre-bookings setting the trend for 2017, Alpha Bank analysts reported this week.

According to the Alpha Bank assessment, which cites data from the National Bank of Greece, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) and the Foundation of Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE), there is considerable tourism potential for 2017 with Greece remaining a steady and safe choice for holidaymakers.

As 2016 draws to a close, tourist arrivals are expected to reach 24.5 million against 23.5 million in 2015, excluding cruise travelers and despite the ongoing refugee crisis with resultant revenue however remaining at the same levels with last year.

Alpha Bank analysts also referred to the return of tourists from Russia, with the number up by 18.9 percent in the first nine months of 2016, against a drop of 62.1 percent in the corresponding period last year.

According to SETE meanwhile, the number of arrivals are also reflecting the positive trend for the new year with the country’s major airports welcoming 25.1 percent more visitors in October and 13.5 percent more in September demonstrating that the tourism season is extending beyond the traditional summer months of June, July and August, with autumn months now playing a crucial role in the overall performance of the sector.
(gtp)

Athens among the top 17 places to travel in 2017

Conde Nast Traveler published the list with the best places to travel in 2017.
According to the list, the best place to visit in 2017 is Canada.
Athens is fifth on the list.

 "Athens has always been known as an old city, that’s nothing new.
Instead, what is new is its burgeoning status as a modern arts capital: Look no further than the recently opened, Renzo Piano-designed, $623 million Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, which houses the National Opera and the National Library of Greece, sits on the biggest park in Athens, and is the first public building in Greece to achieve a Platinum LEED certification. The National Museum of Contemporary Art also partially reopened in a renovated brewery after a 12-year closure, and in April, the city will co-host documenta, the exhibition of modern and contemporary art that takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany (it’s the first time the hosting duties will be split between two cities).Though it’s long played second fiddle to other European capitals like Rome, and merely seen as a stopover point on the way to, say, Corfu, Athens has once again arrived."