Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

Greece is making an unprecedented offer to tourists that amounts to a free travel
insurance policy.

It says it will cover the extra costs for any tourists stranded in the country as a result
of industrial action or natural disaster.

The offer is part of an effort to improve Greece’s image, which has been damaged
by strikes and protests over government austerity measures. Strikes are continuing,
although the number of violent clashes has eased.

Greek tourism also suffered the effects of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, which
blocked air routes.

“We are guaranteeing to cover the extra room and board any visitor in Greece pays
even if stuck here because of a volcano in Iceland,” said the Culture and Tourism
Minister, Pavlos Geroulanos.

Tourism generates almost 20 per cent of the nation’s income, but industry experts
say bookings are down by about ten per cent. Mr Geroulanos said tourism
seemed to be recovering, although it was too early to make accurate forecasts.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers a range of luxury hotels in Greece and the Greek islands.

Visitors to many parts of Europe will know that the smoking ban in public places is rigidly enforced – but not so in Greece.

It has more smokers than any other country in Europe (around 42 per cent of the population), but two attempts to cut the number of smoking-related deaths have failed – laws have simply been ignored.

The Greek government will now try a third time. From July 1st, thousands of restaurants and bars will have to build sealed-off smoking areas or declare themselves non-smoking establishments. Offices will have to be smoke-free. Those lighting up illegally will face fines of 500 euros (£425 / $700).

“Our society is more ready than ever to embrace this,” Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told a news conference. “We will all be judged here … this is the start of an effort to change the mentality on what is this country’s most crucial public health issue,” he said.

The imminent ban on smoking appears to have given some people the incentive to kick the habit - hospital clinics that help people quit are reporting waiting lists of up to three months.

by Andy Moreton

Experience the new smoke-free Greece and choose a luxury hotel from Luxique’s unrivalled selection.

I wrote last week about how a city can benefit from a film that’s set in its midst – Vienna and The Third Man, for example.

But the highest grossing UK film of all time has gone further than that and given a tourism bounce to a whole country.

Mamma Mia, featuring the songs of Abba, is set on the Greek island of Skopelos and offers a sunny depiction of island life. Since its release last July, travel agents and low-cost airlines have reported a surge in bookings to all parts of Greece and her islands.

Sales of easyJet flights from the UK to Athens, for instance, have risen by 13 per cent in the past nine months. Its UK General Manager, Paul Simmons, says Mamma Mia, which has taken more than £420 million ($617 million) worldwide, seems to have re-ignited British passion for the whole of Greece. And he says it’s good value: “Despite the strength of the pound, the relatively low cost of living in Greece is making it affordable.”

Elsewhere in Europe, the picture’s not so rosy as the recession bites. Italy is the latest country to mount an international advertising campaign to try to lure back tourists.

Dubbed ‘Italia Much More,’ the 10 million euro (£9 million / $13 million) campaign includes television spots featuring tourists posing by Rome’s Colosseum and Venice’s Grand Canal, or enjoying Italy’s lesser-known sights like unspoilt beaches and ski slopes.
Italia Much More - Italian tourism ad campaign
The ads will be shown on national television in Italy’s main tourist markets - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Britain, the United States and Canada.

Italy’s tourism chief, Matteo Marzotto, said: “We’re in the middle of a war; despite having had a good winter season, we expect problems during Easter.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has a wide selection of luxury and boutique hotels in Greece and Italy and their islands.

A Greek court is considering a request by residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos to ban the use of the word lesbian as a term to describe gay women.

Three islanders brought the case, arguing that the term insulted their identity. Lesbos was the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet, Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian and the island has become a mecca for gay women from around the world.
The plaintiffs argued that the island’s population were the only true Lesbians – the dispute was over identity, not sexuality. “Gay women have every right to define themselves as they wish, but they don’t have the right to appropriate our national identity,” said one.
In the packed courtroom, one of the islanders wore a badge that read: “I am Paul and I am a Lesbian.” Another unfurled a banner that read: “If you are not from Lesbos, you are not a Lesbian.”
The court will deliver its ruling in the next two months.

by Andy Moreton