Greek homeowners can now rent out their houses for temporary use without being required to obtain a special operations label following an amendment made to the law last month abolishing rental terms.

Under the third bailout plan the Greek government agreed to with its creditors earlier this year, Greek property owners can now rent their homes through popular online platforms such as Airbnb, or through private rental contracts, without holding the special operations label awarded by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Authorities at the Greek island of Alonnisos have made some innovative decisions in order to increase the tourism rate on the island in the coming summer season. The actions they have prepared focus on diving and hiking tourism, as well as on original events, such as underwater weddings.

Their main goal is to expand the touristic season on the island through alternative actions and proposals, which are inherent in the flora, the fauna and the natural beauty of the island and to highlight the regions advantages.

Alonissos’ touristic promotion program was created in cooperation with the tourism consultant of the municipality, MTC Group. The program will explore pioneering low-cost methods to attract tourists to the island.

To read more, please visit: Greek Reporter
by
Ioanna Zikakou

Greece is no longer mulling court action to win back the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum in London, Culture Minister Aristides Baltas said Tuesday, adding that the government would kick-start a diplomatic campaign to repatriate the 5th century BC statues.

Questioned by MPs during a session of Parliament’s education committee, Baltas said that the government was unwilling to put forward a legal claim “most importantly because we risk losing the case.”

The committee met to discuss a European Council directive on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a memberstate.

The leftist minister said that lawyer Amal Clooney and the Doughty Street Chambers legal team from London, who had been advising Athens on possible action in the international court to force the British Museum to hand over the Marbles, had already been compensated for their services.

To read more, please visit: ekathimerini

As olives were harvested this fall to be prepared for the massive olive oil production that takes place throughout Greece, a special harvest took place in the municipality of Glyfada, involving a humanitarian effort by the city and volunteers to provide olive oil to people in need.

Like most of Greece, olive trees are abundant on public land and go largely untouched, with tons of fruit simply withering and falling to the ground, season after season.  One resident - Stavros Giakoumakis - wanted to change that and approached Glyfada's mayor, Giorgos Papanikolaou, with a plan. 

That plan involved a massive volunteer and educational effort to harvest all of the olive trees that exist on public land; parks, forested areas and other areas that belong to the municipality, and produce olive oil that would, in turn, be given to needy familie through the city's public welfare efforts.

To read more, please visit: Pappas Post

Good news for 2016!

The islands of Milos, Samos, Ios, Syros, Chios, Symi and Kos are scheduled to be included in cruise itineraries for the following year in efforts to win over the rapidly growing cruise market, local media reports.

In this direction, the Shipowners Association of Cruise Ships and Shipping Agencies is currently in talks so that investments and plans for the further development of relevant infrastructure is in place in order to cater to large capacity incoming luxury liners.

Projects at the ports of Patra, Corfu, Katakolo, Igoumenitsa, Patmos, Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion are already in the pipeline, and companies are looking to include a large part of the eastern Peloponnese among their new destinations.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Greek coastal ferry operator Hellenic Seaways recently expressed its interest to operate new routes from Izmir to the Greek islands and Thessaloniki.

The announcement followed an event organized in Izmir by the North Aegean Region and the Izmir Chamber of Commerce and attended by local authorities, Hellenic Seaways, tourism professionals and journalists.

During the event, representatives of Hellenic Seaways presented a complete transportation network that would cover the needs of both countries.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Not since 1977 has a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas. This year a bright full moon will be an added gift for the holidays. The last of 2015, December's full moon is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs during the beginning of winter.

In the future, Christmas will coincide with a full moon every 19 years. This rare event won't happen again until 2034 (then in 2053 and 2072) so be sure to look up to the skies on Christmas Day!

Over the past years, the South African Embassy has pursued educational and cultural projects as they are of vital importance in promoting South Africa's culture and diversity abroad.

In this respect, The Embasy initiated a school project called 'bring a child to work.'  The project serves as a career guide, providing motivation for students to better identify themselves with careers in the public sector or related fields.

Othisis School had the opportunity to visit the South African Embassy premises and learn more about how an Embassy functions on a daily basis.  The Head of Mission and Embassy's diplomats welcomed the students, provided a brief background about South Africa and answered questions asked by students.  By the end of the visit, students had a clear picture of South Africa and its presence in the Hellenic Republic.

In a modern high-tech office, two software engineers are busy directing an army of young engineers as they work on upgrades for their three-year-old cloud-based recruiting software company, Workable.com, which already has 3,500 customers in 50 countries and has attracted more than $34 million in venture capital. 

It would be just another Silicon Valley success story if it weren't for the company's home base: Greece, a country that is the basket case in the euro zone because of economic mismanagement, public sector corruption and a youth unemployment rate that's a staggering 60 percent. The situation is so dire, suicide rates are on the rise, and there is an exodus of talent looking for opportunities abroad.

Despite the bleak outlook, there is a growing cadre of Greek entrepreneurs determined to defy the odds and build high-tech businesses that can thrive, providing a glimmer of hope for the economy. These trailblazers are patriots. As the most highly educated generation in the nation's history, they are determined to grow their ideas on home soil even as Greece grapples with budget austerity, and regulatory changes that are undermining the middle class and threatening national sovereignty.

"The crisis has pushed people into survival mode, and they are looking for opportunities," according to Stavros Messinis, CEO and founder of The Cube, a start-up incubator in Athens.  "At this point, there isn't much for them to lose."

Most are tired of an unstable political system unable to put the country back on its feet. Since the start of the economic crisis in 2009, Greece has lost more than 25 percent of its GDP, and thousands of enterprises have gone bust under the pressure of a deepening recession. This summer the country defaulted on more than $280 billion of debt, and capital controls were issued to prevent a run on the banks. 


As Messinis explained, "Up until now, 70 percent of Greeks were employed by the public sector. But that is now crumbling. Now we need to develop a high-tech sector that can produce value-added products and services to turn the economy around." 

To read more, please visit: CNBC

Temperatures are expected to drop during the last two days of the year in Greece, raising hopes that some mountainous and northern regions might enjoy some snow.

Greece has experienced an exceptionally mild winter so far, with clear blue skies and temperatures reaching 15 degrees during the day, including Christmas day.

Clouds and rain are expected on Wednesday (Dec. 30) throughout Greece while snow is forecast for the mountainous area in central and northern parts of the country. Temperatures will drop as low as 2 degrees Celcius.

On New Year’s Eve, sleet is forecast for many regions of the country. Mountainous areas as well as in the lowlands of central and northern Greece will have winds reaching 7 Beaufort. Temperatures will drop to -1 in many regions. Temperatures will drop another degree on New Year’s day with sleet, rain and clouds expected for most of the country.

Source: ANA-MPA