Greece 2006

From the tourism industry viewpoint, 2006 was a great year for Greek travel. From the tourist perspective, things may have looked a little less rosy, but it was still a banner year for travel in Greece.

The Best News

Tourism Picks Up
Throughout Greece, almost every area reported increases in the number of bookings for 2006 over 2005. The much-anticipated "Olympic Effect" seems to be finally paying off.

Yes, Madame Minister A woman's touch - which brought great things to Athens under the mayorship of Dora Bakoyannis and to the Olympics under Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki - may be just what is needed for Greek tourism as Greece welcomes its first female minister of tourism, Fani Palli-Petralia.

The Bus 400
Begun in 2005, the "secret" Tourist Bus 400 returned for a second year, offering a cheap way to easily get around the sites of Athens independently, but with just enough guidance to keep you from mistakes and give you a little insight along the route. But beware - most hotels and travel agents keep silent about it, hoping you'll book one of the usual coach tours which pay commissions.

A New Slogan
After last year's "Live Your Myth in Greece", which seemed to mainly picture a passionately kissing couple hidden by the woman's large hat, this year's new campaign is "Explore Your Senses", featuring images of some of Greece's best attractions... somewhat more reliably included on most trips to Greece.

The In-between

A New Shirley Valentine
Speaking of last year's ad campaign, a 41-year-old British woman was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a young Rom baby from its mother in a grocery store; she apparently wanted to convince her much-younger Greek lover that the child was his. When he pointed out the baby was much too old to be the newborn result of their union, she then dropped it off at a hospital.

Greece unintentionally benefited from a couple of negative events worldwide.

The coordinated terrorist bombings at British-favored tourist locations such as Marmaris in Turkey had many travelers quickly changing their tickets from Istanbul to Athens.

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the war in Iraq also kept tourists well away from those destinations and back in "safe" Greece.

The Israeli-Lebanon conflict drove tourists away from the entire region and evacuation efforts strained some transportation as Greek ships were used to clear evacuees from Lebanon and take them to Cyprus. Some geographically-challenged travelers in some cases believed Cyprus to be a Greek island and much closer to the conflicts, and this cost Greece some bookings.

Worst News:

Two Children Die in Corfu Carbon monoxide poisoning killed two children in Corfu. Early rumors included the consumption of bad local mushrooms or a botched suicide pact, but a bad boiler at the luxury hotel was found to be at fault. The afflicted family thought they were all coming down with the flu. This sort of thing is rare and can happen anywhere on earth - but hey, it never hurts to read over the Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

Train Loses Carriage, Doesn't Notice
A train on the Athens-Corinth route lost one of its carriages and didn't notice, leaving the passengers stranded on the tracks for forty minutes. The driver didn't notice a warning light indicating he'd left most of his train on the tracks behind him, and a safety warning system supposed to detect loose cars on the tracks failed to operate. However, this may add up to some good news for KTEL, Greece's excellent long-distance bus service.

More Bad News for Bargain Hunters
With more clients, extremely good deals are harder to find as Greek hoteliers find it easier to fill their rooms at higher rates. Reservations - at least for your first couple of nights - are an increasingly good idea.

Greek Industries Still Love to Go on Strike
2006 was no exception. Again, this one makes the list for a second year in a row. Take your pick of transportation modes - whatever it was, it went on strike at least once this past year. As usual. Personally, I only got stung by a single bus strike and a single taxi strike - not bad!

The Helios Crash Investigations
The tragic 2005 Helios Crash is still under investigation as of this writing, but it looks like a cascade of equipment problems, human errors, or simply human inadequacies, from a switch that didn't get flipped back to "on" after maintenance, communication difficulties, and official frigidity in the face of the unfolding disaster.

The In-between

Olympic Airlines is Still Olympic Airlines - Again
Last year, the airline promised a restructuring with a new name and slightly new company due in spring of 2006. Then it was due in the fall of 2006. Hm, I'm writing this in early winter .... and we still don't know what's going on with Olympic. But a recent Greek court ruling may clear up hundreds of millions of euros in debt that the European Union claimed the airline would have to repay to the Greek government before a sale could go through.

My guess on the new name? Probably Olympic Air - because it's pretty easy to block over the last few letters of "Olympic Airlines" - and you still have the future restructuring option of just going with "Olympic". My fantasy? Richard Branson buys it all up and renames it "Parthenos Airlines"...

The Bottom Line

Good, bad, or indifferent, it's Greece. Every trip brings its own special joys and discoveries, whether it's the first time or the fiftieth. If you've never been, you don't know what I'm talking about, and it's time to go to Greece and find out. And if you have travelled in Greece before, hey, you're reading this website, you must be hearing that siren calling, and it's time to go again. Read Last Year's Hits and Misses in Greek Travel