German interest in Greek destinations is still keen, with more German travelers including Greece in their holiday plans for 2016, local tourism professionals say. To keep up with the trend, German tour operators are enhancing their Greece packages with additional airline seats and accommodation options.

Greece is facing fierce competition by other neighbouring destinations including Spain, Italy and Turkey, which has – following the recent Russia incident and the resultant embargo – focused much of its tourism drive on the German market.

At the same time, an estimated 20 percent of Germany’s holidaymakers said they would think twice before setting off on their next trip, according to a November survey published after the terror attacks in Paris, in German travel magazine fvw.

The report, however, also found higher figures for people who would not be influenced in their travel plans, led by Spain with 50 percent and Greece at 39 percent.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

The popular news and media source Buzzfeed recently released their list of ’31 Places Around The World You Should Eat At Before You Die,’ and two of Athens’ restaurants made the list! The compilation includes a variety of locations and culinary offerings that certainly do not disappoint, as recommended by a cultured group of globetrotters.

One of these globetrotters is Jess Brammar, the senior broadcast journalist on the BBC’s “Newsnight” program. She focused her attention on an Exarchia eatery that provides a spectacular setting of central Athens. According to Brammar, at Ama Laxei the food you will encounter is nothing short of amazing. She describes it as “traditional Greek with a modern twist”. Full of salads and large plates to share, Ama Laxei provides an ideal dinner for larger parties and socialites.

Ama Laxei: Kallidromiou 69, 210 384 5978

Athens scores another spot on the list with one of its notable restaurants Seychelles, located in the neighborhood of Metaxourgeio. Jon Henley, a feature writer for the popular news and media company Guardian, dines at this casual hangout and gives and gives credit to its authentically Greek, yet satisfyingly inventive cuisine.

Seychelles: 49 Kerameikou Street, 211 183 4789

Reviewers managed to hit a wide variety of cities that takes readers on a trip across the globe. The list highlights Umm Hagar, found in the center of Cairo, Egypt, Armand’s Bistro in Cambodia, Vijay’s in the northwest of London, and Don Alfonso overlooking the Amalfi coast and Sorrento.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Magazine

To see the full list of Places To Eat At Before You Die, please visit: Buzzfeed

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels has come out with a new electronic tourism guide for Athens and Attica named Trip2Athens that focuses on online booking, organizing travel and boosting business partnerships within the tourism industry of the Greek capital.

The Trip2Athens e-guide displays all tourism activities including accommodation, catering, entertainment, shopping, etc., and is offered in seven languages, Greek, English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. 

Through the platform, visitors from around the world can live out the “dream – plan – book – visit – share” experience: plan their journey to Athens from the beginning to the end, choose their transportation, choose the hotel for their stay, choose the attractions they are interested in visiting and make all the necessary reservations.

The Trip2Athens e-guide is also a business tool for enterprises as they can use it to promote their business to the international e-tourism market.

The platform encourages synergies between different tourism service providers for the offer of personalized services to travellers that will strengthen and improve the overall visitor experience.

Today the platform counts 2,000 companies, 470 hotels, approximately 1,000 sites, hundreds of activities and other places of interest in Athens and Attica.

All professionals on the platform can promote their businesses and increase sales through the guide by making a company profile, which can include photos, opening hours, contact details, interactive map, etc., and upload offers and discount vouchers. Guests that have already used the platform will be notified of all available offers.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

The countdown to the inaugural Messinia Pro Am is underway with extensive interest from golf teams both in Greece and abroad.

 

The event is set to take place from February 21-24, 2016 at Costa Navarino, the prime sustainable golf destination in the Mediterranean, with many professional and amateur golfers already forming the first Pro Am teams set to participate.

The event will celebrate its inaugural year with the presence of former professional basketball player Joe Arlauckas. Commenting on his participation, the great basketball player stated, “It feels great to be able to visit one of my favorite countries, Greece, and I am really looking forward to spending time playing at the two great signature designed golf courses as well as enjoying all of the amenities Costa Navarino has to offer.”

Each team participating in the tournament consists of one professional and three amateur golfers. The event will kick off on February 21st with a practice day for all teams followed by the main competition taking place between February 22nd and 24th.

The focal point of the action will be Costa Navarino’s two award-winning golf courses, The Dunes Course and The Bay Course. The Dunes Course opened as the first signature 18 hole golf course in Greece, followed by The Bay Course, another 18 hole seaside golf course.

Both golf courses received the accolades of Best Newcomers by the World of Leading Golf Association in 2014, while in 2016 the courses were recognised by the internationally renowned magazine Golf World as number 6 in a list of the Top 100 European Golf Resorts. Further accolades include placing within Robb Report’s ‘Best of the Best Golf Courses’, while 1Golf.eu named The Dunes Course as second place in a round-up of Europe’s Most Popular Golf Courses 2016.

The Director of Local Operations, Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, Mr. George Hadjiosif highlighted, “Golf has again become an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904. In Costa Navarino, we are proud to launch the Messinia Pro-Am, an international golf tournament aiming to become an established institution hosting the golfing elite from around the globe and promoting golf and golf tourism in Greece. Being under the auspices of the PGAs of Europe is an honour for us and we look forward to a successful event.”

Registrations and participation forms for the 1st Messinia Pro Am continue at a quick pace at the official page of the event: http://messiniaproam.costanavarino.com/registration.html. For those who are interested in staying at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and enjoy the full experience of the Messinia Pro Am 2017, special accommodation packages are available:

AEGEAN, member of STAR ALLIANCE, the leading global aviation alliance will be the official airline partner of the event, while the company Kyvernitis Travel is the official supporter of the event.

The 1st Messinia Pro Am will be held under the auspices of the PGAs of Europe, the PGA of Greece, the Hellenic Golf Federation and the Hellenic Olympic Academy.

Official Airline Partner: AEGEAN

Official Supporter: Kyvernitis Travel

Organizer: Costa Navarino

Website

Photo Credit: Costa Navarino

The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

The young people who participate in the European Solidarity Corps will all agree with and uphold its Mission and Principles.

You can register for the European Solidarity Corps when you are 17 years old, but you cannot start a project until you are over 18. European Solidarity Corps projects will be available to people up to the age of 30 years old.

After completing a simple registration process, European Solidarity Corps participants could be selected and invited to join a wide range of projects, such as helping to prevent natural disasters or rebuild afterwards, assisting in centres for asylum seekers, or addressing different social issues in communities.

Projects supported by the European Solidarity Corps can last from two to twelve months. They will usually be located within the European Union Member States.

For more information, please visit: Europa & Facebook

The news and lifestyle source, The Guardian, shared their top picks for the new museum openings in 2017 and the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) in Athens is recognized on their list!

‘The reconstruction of EMST has been quite a tale, with over a decade financial and bureaucratic setbacks. Still, in October 2016 it was finally ready for a soft launch, inaugurating the temporary exhibition space with the show Urgent Conversations: Athens–Antwerp in its newly reconstructed home in the old Fix brewery. The permanent collection is pegged to be unveiled in autumn 2017, when the museum is expected to finally open in its entirety.’

Other top new museum openings include the Institue of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Design Society in China, and the Museum Barberini in Germany.

To read this article in full, please visit: The Guardian

Hotel Grande Bretagne wins a Golden Chef’s hat award, there’s a new bike-friendly hotel in Athens, Athens Int’l airport is fighting climate change, and more!

 

As August is the month that most Greeks take their summer vacation, port authorities are advising travelers to arrive an hour earlier at the point of their departure as increased passenger traffic is expected at the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrion.

On just the first day of the August, 21 ferry routes took place from Piraeus port, as 23,036 passengers, 3,336 private cars, 742 trucks and 607 motorcycles departed for various Aegean islands.

According to data from the central port authorities and ferry companies, last June, July and August a total of 1,423,646 passengers departed from Piraeus to various Aegean islands and 469,917 passengers traveled to islands in the Argosaronic.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Registrations are now open!

Global sports figure Mike Tindall joins this year’s event!

Costa Navarino presents the 3rd edition of Messinia Pro-Am , 20-23 February 2019. The international golf tournament will welcome a total of 30 teams, while professionals will be competing for a total prize fund of 30,000 euros.

Among this year’s participants, a global sports figure will be joining Messinia Pro-Am: Former international rugby player Mike Tindall that represented England 75 times and 5 times as captain over a 17 year career.

Registrations for the 3rd Messinia Pro-Am are now open at the official tournament website, HERE  and will close on January 18 th 2019.

Those who register until October 20 th 2018 will benefit from an “early bird” discount on their participation packages.

The tournament will take place at the award-winning golf courses of Costa Navarino , which has been selected by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) as the “European Golf Resort of the Year 2017”. The two signature 18-hole golf courses, The Dunes Course and The Bay Course will once again host professional and amateur golfers, for a four-day event filled with unique experiences both on and off the course.

The 3 rd Messinia Pro-Am is organized in collaboration with the PGAs of Europe and is held under the auspices of PGA of Greece and the Hellenic Golf Federation .

AEGEAN, a member of Star Alliance, is the official airline partner of the event. The
company was awarded for the seventh consecutive year and for the eighth time in nine
years, as "Best Regional Airline in Europe" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Erasmus is the official travel partner coordinating and ensuring the smooth registration
& accommodation process.

For those wishing to stay at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino and enjoy the full
programme of Messinia Pro-Am, special accommodation packages are available HERE!

Watch the Messinia Pro-Am Video HERE!

Hashtag: #messiniaproam

( Photo credit: Vassilis Sfakianopoulos )

The center of Athens is the hub for most of the city’s museums, attractions, and cultural events. One of the newest additions to Athens’ museum and entertainment scene is the Museum of Illusions in Monastiraki which opened its doors to the public last September.

 

Get ready to enter a world of illusion, a world that will confuse your mind and senses. The Museum of Illusions is a visual, sensory, and educational experience that will impress children and adults alike.

 

Be brave enough to jump in an illusion created by the Vortex Tunnel that will drive you crazy and make you believe you’re struggling to make a step forward through the rotating cylinder – on a surface so stable and flat! See a deformed reflection of yourself in the Mirror Room, let yourself free in the Infinity Room, resist the laws of gravity and size ratio, and take pictures of yourself and your friends in every possible pose!

 

Before leaving make sure to visit the Playroom, a room full of intriguing and educational games, puzzles, and brain bashers that are great fun but can be quite frustrating as well.

 

Museum of Illusions

Address: Ermou 119 (entrance from Astiggos 12)

 

Photo Credit: Museum of Illusions