Crete, Greece, Signs Tourism Cooperation Protocol With Hainan Province, China

A cooperation protocol to develop tourism, trade and culture between Crete in Greece and China’s Hainan province was recently signed between the island’s regional governor, Stavros Arnaoutakis, and the chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Hainan Provincial Committee, Yu Xun. The signing took place within the framework of Mr. Xun’s official visit to the Region with a five-member delegation. Hainan Province is located southeast of China and has nine million inhabitants.
During the signing that took place at the regional governor’s office, Mr. Arnaoutakis referred to the comparative advantages of Crete in the sectors of culture and quality tourism. He spoke highly of the Cretan diet and noted that partnerships can be developed to export quality products from Crete to China and also strengthen tourist arrivals from China to the Greek island.
On his part, Mr. Yu Xun said he was impressed by the Greek-Cretan hospitality. “We are confident that we will pass the message that will strengthen tourist arrivals from Hainan to Crete,” he said.
(source: gtp)

Photo of the day!!

Crete: The island lies in the subtropical part of the Mediterranean and it offers mild winters with specially along the coast line many sunny days with pleasant temperatures. On the south coast you may find your self maybe a day on the beach and swimming in the cleanest seas of Europe.
http://www.plakiassuites.com/

Autumn in Crete

Plakias is a small fishing village on the Southwest of Crete when the summer going on until late October!!
Travel Greece, Visit Crete...
http://www.plakiassuites.com/

Greece: Visitor Arrivals Reach Record High In August

The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Greece in August this year reached 4.88 million people, rising by 25 percent compared to the same month in 2013, Bank of Greece data revealed on 22 October.
According to the data, the number of tourists visiting Greece from January to August 2014 surpassed 15.3 million people, an increase of 22.1 percent.
Of these visitors, some nine million tourists came from European Union countries (14.6 percent increase), while the remaining are arrivals from countries outside the EU-28 (33.1 percent increase).
During the first eight months of the year, Greece saw a major increase in arrivals from the United States (24.8 percent), France (20.7 percent) and the United Kingdom (15.6 percent).
The increase in tourist arrivals had beneficial effects on revenues, which grew by 11.1 percent compared to the same period of 2013 and amounted to 9.37 billion euros.
(source: Bank of Greece, GTP )

Lost treasures reclaimed from 2,000-year-old Antikythera shipwreck

World's first computer found at wreck

In 1900, sponge divers from the Greek island of Symi anchored along the eastern coastline of the island while waiting for a ferocious storm to pass. What they would stumble upon would stun the world.

Underneath the crystalline waters, lay the incredible wreck undiscovered for thousands of years. And as the site was explored over the next year, they would uncover life-size bronze statues and remarkable artifacts. But it was the 1902 recovery of a clump of calcified stone with mysterious inscriptions that would push the wreck into archaeological lore.

The heavily corroded bronze fragments would turn out to be what has been described as the world's earliest known "computer," designed in the first century BC -- the Antikythera Mechanism. Built to track the astronomical calendar and lunar movements, later radiographic image analysis of the mechanism revealed 30 intricate gear wheels.

"We hate to speak of treasure but in this case, it's actually a treasure ship and there are just no two ways about it.
Brendan Foley, archaeologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Famed underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau visited the site in 1976 to film a documentary and returned from below the surface with treasures galore. Since then, the site had remained dormant under the aegis of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture for almost 40 years.

"The Antikythera shipwreck is maybe the most important, most famous shipwreck from antiquity," Brendan Foley, an archaeologist from WHOI and co-director of the expedition told CNN before the dive began in September. "We are hardcore scientists and archaeologists. We hate to speak of treasure but in this case, it's actually a treasure ship and there are just no two ways about it."

(continue here:cnn)

Lighthouses of Greece.

The Greek lighthouses network is considered the largest and densest.
The spread of Greek coast has a length of 15,000 km. and is equivalent to 6/10 the coast of Africa!!!

Greece Talks About Developing Special Interest Tourism On Crete...

“Tourism in Crete is a key area of wealth,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said while speaking at a conference in Heraklion, Crete.
The conference took place on 17 October and explored possibilities of developing special interest tourism types (agritourism, wine tourism and pilgrimage/religious tourism) to create a development strategy for South and inland Crete.
“The biggest challenge is to balance development between the southern part of the island and the inland… But Crete can utilize the many unique elements and proceed towards a balanced development,” Mrs. Kefalogianni said.
The tourism minister underlined that all stakeholders must join forces to support tourism on Crete.
More into her speech, she spoke in regards to the initiatives of the Tourism Ministry for the further development of special interest tourism.
More specifically, Mrs. Kefalogianni highlighted amendments made to a bill for tourism that set the standards for the development of agritourism and wine tourism in Greece. The amendments defined agritourism-related activities and the types of businesses and accommodation units that can practice the alternative form of tourism and receive the special agritourism seal or wine tourism seal. “For the first time, minimum requirements for the activity of agritourism and wine tourism businesses were set,” she said.
On pilgrimage/religious tourism, she highlighted the cooperation protocols signed between the ministry and the Church of Greece that see to the promotion of Greece’s unique religious monuments to visitors.
Mrs. Kefalogianni added that the implementation of the national plan for tourism resulted to the industry developing into a “catalyst” for economic growth. In 2014, revenues and arrivals increased by 13.4 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, according to data from the Bank of Greece.
Source: gtp