The Best News
Boutique Hotels are ThrivingOnce a rarity, unusual hotels in atmospheric buildings are now easy to find, at least in Athens, and often a bargain over similar hotels in other countries.
What's A Greek Boutique?
Top Boutique Hotels in Greece
The Chinese Connection
As the prior Olympic nation, Greece has been enjoying warming relations with China and Chinese tourists are returning the favor, visiting Greece in increasing numbers. But ecomomic problems have reduced the number of German and British tourists visiting Greece, long a mainstay. And Russian and other Eastern Europena tourists have discovered Greece in such numbers that some signs for luxury goods - especially furs - are now in Greek and Russian on highway billboards.
Worst News:
Exchange that Exchange Rate, Please!For many readers, the decline of the dollar against the Euro has put a big damper on their plans for visiting Greece. Where will it go in 2008? Well, I'm not a financial advisor, but the first thing I'm doing when I arrive at the Athens International Airport in Greece on my next trip is opening up an account in Euros. I don't expect this to get much better, if at all, in 2008.
Strike! You're Out!
Tourist season is also renegotiate-the-contract season for many unions in Greece, who know they can pull a dramatic strike and shake up the tourism industry any time they like. I don't know if this tactic actually gets them what they want, but it does create a bad atmosphere for travelers who are often inconvenienced during peak travel times in Greece.
Greece on Fire
Global warming? Government incompetence? An arsonist's convention? Predatory land grabs? Whatever the causes, the Summer 2008 wildfires spread smoke, flames, death and confusion throughout Greece. Almost 80 perished in the flames; dozens died when a fire truck ran into a line of cars filled with evacuees, and blocked their escape route. While most of the damage was in rural areas, shocked visitors once again took refuge on beaches while hotels were threatened; a few lost their lives in this national tragedy, including a French couple found entwined together on a scorched hillside.
Cruise Ship Sinks in the Santorini Caldera
The Louis Cruises ship the Sea Diamond sank after hitting a well-known and charted underwater reeef in the heavily-travelled Santorini caldera. Two passengers, a father and a daughter, were lost in the accident. The ship itself, an environmental hazard, as of this writing still has not been removed from the caldera. Human error on the part of the captain has been given as the cause of the accident.
Record Heat
This is actually a common theme around the world - nations registering extremely high summer temperatures. It has always been a good reason to avoid the high season months of July and August - but now, it's even more crucial to try and time your visit for a cooler, quieter time. Though that may be hard to find - in some places in Greece, winter temperatures are now warmer than ever.
The In-between
A New Tourism Minister Wait, wasn't that last year's news too? Um, yes. Fani Palli-Petralia, who succeeded Dimitrios Avramopoulos, the first Minister of Tourism for the newly-created office. While Aris Spiliotopoulos seems well up for the job and is maintaining a vigorous schedule of international meetings, this fast turnover in an area that is so important to Greece - and to travelers to Greece - is disconcerting to say the least.
Olympic Airlines is Still Olympic Airlines - Again
Wait, wasn't that last year's news too? Um, yes. See a trend here? Pardon the redundancy, but here, too, the more it all changes the more it stays the same. A name change is threatened. An EU court decision looks like it may strip Olympic of operating internationally, which would truly be a major change in 2008 - one that looks likely to me.
