Greece Prime Minister, George Papandreou has used a rare emergency regulate to force striking fuel tanker drivers back to occupation following their protest threatened Greece travel and tourism businesses and started reasoning food, fuel in addition to medical shortages in Greece Papandreou issued the civil mobilization order on the third day of a strike which has blocked most of Greek gas stations. The confrontation followed months of labor union opposition to severity measures because of the Greece crisis. The government said “No one has the right to paralyze the country, no one.” Striking union members would comply with the emergency order is not clear until now. The truck drivers have to return to work within 24 hours or face arrest and risk losing their transport licenses.
Greek yachting sector was facing destruction as it is suffering the worst year in its history because of the economic crisis. Reservations for professional yachts with crew were down more than 80 percent this year compared with last year. Reservations for sail boats are also down with incomes suffering a sharp fall this year; even though no specific figures could be provided since there is no single charter policy in the sector.
Over 500,000 people are left with their reservoirs empty because of the ongoing strike of truck and tanker owners. At the moment there are no cancellations of reservations but there is a high possibility in the upcoming days if the strike continues. This fuel shortage situation negatively affects Greece’s image and causes serious problems in the tourism sector as many travelers in Greece this summer are not coming back next year.
From its confined sweet wine to its moderately sole forested inland mountains to its three relaxing waterfronts, Samos has it all. Greek life carries on here relatively unaffected by tourism with an eye on the pulsation: It’s a contemporary northeastern Aegean island that hasn’t turned its back on tradition in the meantime. Both Pythagoras and Epicurus were born in Samos. Hera, whose ancient refuge, the Ireon, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, also hails from Samos. Each of the island’s main waterfronts are chalk full of gorgeous restaurants and bars, full with locals downing frappes (mix of milk and coffee) during the day, and Samos Vin Doux, the confined desert wine, at night. All nights concludes at Elia in Pythagorio, one of the best tavernas in all of the Greek isles.
A metaphorical arts exhibition titled “The ancient olive grove of Crete in the depth of time”, featuring 317 works of art together with sculptures, paintings, photographs and mosaics signed by Greek and foreign artists. The exhibition will continue until August 31 at the International Exhibition Centre of Crete at Gournes, which is near the city of Heraklion. The exhibition is open for the public without charge.
Greece asks Bulgaria to guarantee a corridor for transport of goods to Russia. This will be one of the topics to be discussed today at the joint session of the governments of Bulgaria and Greece in Boyana residence in Sofia. Athens will request for raising the capacity of Varna-Kavkaz ferry, so it could join in Greek goods. Consequently it will take not more than five days the goods to be delivered from Thessalonica to Moscow using the Black Sea.
Another strike by air traffic controllers in Greece has postponed hundreds of flights. Greece Air traffic controllers strike is affecting flights for past 2 days creating problems for tourists. For past 2 days thousands of tourists are stranded at the Athens Airport hoping to avoid Greece as soon as possible. On Sunday 186 flights faced postpones and 3 flights were forced to call off out of 294 flights set to departure. Air traffic controllers went ahead with the 48 hours strike on Sunday despite the court had confirmed the strike illegal. After the decision of the court, Union announced not to strike but still went ahead with it. The strike is having very destructive effects on the Greece tourism industry. Most tourists are going to keep away from traveling until Greece is stabilized. Tourists faced huge problems at the Athens Airport due to strike.
High temperatures all the way through Greece sent Greeks to the beaches in droves over the weekend, while according to weather forecasts a breathing space was expected on Monday. Temperatures reached up to 42 degrees in many parts of the Greece throughout the weekend. The weather is expected to cool today, while some cloud is expected, with the possibility of local showers or even brief storms.
Greek actresses playing the role of priestesses hold the Olympic Flame during a lighting ceremony for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games in the Ancient Olympia. The first-ever Youth Olympics will be held from August 14 – August 26. The Flame will journey to Berlin, Dakar, Auckland, Mexico City and Seoul before reaching Singapore on August 6.
A new advertising campaign supporting Greek tourism is created by the media sector. The three different spots of the campaign first appeared on Greek television last week. There are lyrics about Greece from famous poets such as Odysseas Elytis , Yannis Ritsos and Lorentzos Mavilis. The campaign will be presented in a press conference in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism today.