Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni attended the third UNESCO World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries taking place in Florence, Italy on October 2 - 4.

Organized in cooperation with the Italian Government and with the support of the Tuscany Region and the Municipality of Florence, the forum aims to ensure that culture is duly taken into account in international development policies and strategies, especially at a time when the post-2015 development agenda is being elaborated. 

"For the Greek Tourism Ministry, it is more than clear that tourism development should be based on criteria of sustainability and respect for the natural and human environment." She further referred to the need for collective action to promote sustainable development, awareness of environmental issues and the preservation and promotion of the cultural identity of each area.

Next year, once again, the Germans and the Britons will choose Greece for their summer vacation. This is what a survey by the website 'low-cost-holidays' shows. Crete attracts the most attention, probably because of the new direct flights from Britain, scheduled for next year. The Germans keep apace, mostly because they like booking their holiday vacation well in advance. An 8% increase, has been noted in German bookings, all compared with last year’s data.

In the mean time, hotels in Athens proved a Euro-champ in 2014. According to STR Global, an agency which provides data for the hotel industry, hotels in Athens increased their average rental income [per paid occupied room] by as much as 30%.

More information: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE)