Competition in shipping brought tourists - 4 August, 2010
An increase of 26.76 % was recorded in July this year, compared to the same month last year, in visitor arrivals in the prefecture of Chania with the ferry ships of Anek and Blue Star.
The fierce competition in shipping, the ultra low prices of tickets (19 euros per person) and great offers from the two large shipping companies operating on the line Chania - Piraeus has changed the scene dramatically, after several months without a monopoly, making Chania a very attractive destination for short holidays.
It is significant that a recent story in the newspaper "To Vima" stated that this year's July passenger traffic, recorded in the middle of the shipping season, showed a 20% reduction, "because of the decline in tourist traffic in general. In the half year January - June 2010, the traffic ran at a rate reduced by 15 %, while some shipping lines recorded a reduction to 30 % of traffic. With the exception of the line of Chania , all other routes in the Aegean have a significant drop in passenger traffic. [...]
In particular,in July 2010 93.855 passengers arrived by boat in Chania, compared to 74.040 passengers in July of last year. Increasing is a small number of cruise passengers, but large in percentage (715 in 2009, 1525 until now in 2010, an increase of 113.28 %).
"The plane tickets are expensive"
The opposite is the picture of the domestic flights from Athens and Thessaloniki to the airport "Daskalogiannis" of Chania.
Following the announcement last February, that Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines are proceeding with a merger, the competition appears not work, so the prices of airline tickets, after a period of offers and discounts, have flewn through the roof.
Therefore, in this July there was a 25% reduction in the number of visitors to Chania on domestic flights , compared to the same month last year, while at the same time travel agents and passengers may complain about high prices of tickets from the two companies carrying passengers from the airports Eleftherios Venizelos and "Macedonia" to Chania, as was admitted yesterday by the Chairman of the Prefectural Committee for Tourism Promotion (NETP) of Chania, George Marathakis, in response to a question of Haniotika Nea.
"There have been comments from agents and domestic visitors that air fares are too expensive compared to last year and the year before. All thhe crowd that was going to visit Chania by air, got by ship, "said Marathakis. Note that in July 2010 22.823 passengers arrived by air (domestic flights) to Chania, compared with 30.315 in 2009.
CHANIA IN JULY
Increase of visitors 3 %
Optimism is created by the figures for visitor arrivals in Chania from abroad: this July recorded a 3% increase compared to the same month last year. Specifically, in July 2010 arrived at the airport "Daskalogiannis" 133.721 charter flights passengers, against 129.905 the same month last year.
Issues related to tourism promotion of Chania in the current period were discussed at yesterday's meeting of the Prefectural Committee for Tourism Promotion .
The chairman of Chania NETP Marathakis George announced that the next few days " There will be advertisements in foreign media and publications and websites abroad, in order to " reverse the bad atmosphere created in recent weeks because of strikes of air traffic controllers and tank truck owners.
Marathakis expressed the belief that "the bad climate may be overturned. This September is a very good month for Chania and we have time in front of us, "he said , stating "being cautiously optimistic".
From: Haniotika Nea
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Probe into public funds - 3 August, 2010
Inspectors heading to hospitals, TEIs and municipalities to check their books
The finances of 10 state hospitals, technical colleges, municipalities and other bodies in the wider public sector are going to be checked over the next few days for alleged mismanagement of government funds.
Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou ordered the probes yesterday, based on specific complaints that have been lodged by citizens or watchdogs.
Sources said that inspectors would be visiting several public hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki, the Municipality of Thessaloniki and technical colleges (TEI) in Halkida, Thessaloniki and on the Ionian islands.
It is thought that this is just the beginning of stringent inspections into how public finances are being used. The government is set to hire private companies to help it sift through the accounting books of many more hospitals and municipalities, sources said. The government has been under pressure from European Union and International Monetary Fund officials to crack down on corruption in the public sector.
The Finance Ministry said it would also investigate 25 tax and customs employees suspected of accepting bribes, falsifying tax returns and allowing illegal imports of textiles from China.
"The Finance Ministry is determined to investigate thoroughly its own services... to restore the credibility of the financial services, which remain focused on the difficult target of increasing revenues," the ministry said in a statement.
A law passed last week requires all public bodies to report their accounts to central government on a monthly basis. PASOK hopes that this will be the start of the process to win back control over how public money is spent.
General bureaucracy and the lack of computerized records means that although the government has a very precise picture of what money it gives to hospitals, municipalities and other public bodies, it has very little idea of how these funds are spent. For instance, the most recent accounting figures for local authorities are from 2005. Of 1,034 municipalities in Greece, only 30 submit a full budget report.
Tourism sector may see 7-year low
Minister blames strikes for up to 9 percent drop in total 2010 revenues, expects rosier future
Income from the tourism sector is expected to fall to a seven-year low in 2010 with the best-case scenario predicting that arrival numbers will be the same as last year's levels.
Deputy Tourism Minister Giorgos Nikitiadis admitted yesterday that revenues will be between 7 to 9 percent lower than in 2009, attributing the drop-off to continued strike action taking place in Greece.
The minister's views mirror those expressed by Andreas Andreadis, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, who also expects tourism revenues to shrink by up to 9 percent this year.
If this forecast materializes, that will mean 1 billion euros less for the economy, with income from tourism for the 12-month period falling to 9.4 billion euros.
The last time the figure dipped below the 10-billion-euro mark was in 2003, when it reached 9.5 billion euros, according to Bank of Greece data.
By contrast, the best performance was recorded in 2008, when revenues hit 11.6 billion euros, but this was followed by the international economic crisis in 2009, which resulted in annual tourism receipts falling by 1.2 billion euros.
At the start of July, Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou said that revenues could drop by an annual pace of up to 15 percent.
Athens hotels are likely to be hit hardest from the downturn as was the case last year.
Yiannis Retsos, president of the Athens-Attica Hotel Association, estimates that sector revenues will be 8 to 10 percent lower than last year after sliding by an annual pace of 18 percent in 2009.
Looking ahead, Nikitiadis is upbeat about the course of the tourism sector in coming years.
He believes that the number of arrivals could jump to 25 million people in coming years, from around 14 million currently, in line with a sharp rise shown in neighboring Turkey.
EC probe to study merger of airlines
The European Commission will decide at the start of December whether it will clear a proposed merger between Greek carriers Aegean Airlines and rival Olympic, following an in-depth probe. An initial investigation into the merger showed it could raise 'serious competition concerns,' the EU's executive arm said in a statement at the end of last week. The merger would create a dominant carrier in Greece's domestic market, with a fleet of 64 aircraft and a work force of 5,850 employees. 'The Commission must make sure that consumers and businesses will continue to have a competitive choice of airline services in Greece, both as regards fares and routes, in particular at a time of difficult economic circumstances,' Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia said. The final decision on the proposed merger is expected from Brussels by December 7.
From: Kathimerini
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Truck drivers return to work - 2 August, 2010
Strike called off, talks with transport minister to resume; gas stations expected to have fuel today
Striking truck drivers called off their weeklong action yesterday and said that they would enter talks with the government aimed at resolving the deep rift over the liberalization of their sector.
The decision, announced late yesterday afternoon, prompted hopes that all gas stations around the country would be in a position to serve customers today and that the delivery of products to supermarkets and other stores would resume straight away. [...]
PPC workers issue blackout threat
Public Power Corporation (PPC) employees are threatening to 'plunge the country into darkness,' according to their union GENOP, if the government agrees to sell 40 percent of PPC's hydroelectric and lignite plants, as demanded by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. The latter have asked for a decision to be made by next month.
From: Kathimerini
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Truck drivers defy order to end their strike - 31 July, 2010
Gov't enlists army to ease fuel shortages
The government yesterday enlisted the help of the army in a bid to tackle the fallout from a five-day strike by truck drivers, dispatching military trucks to help alleviate nationwide fuel shortages.
"The armed forces, with their own means, are already guaranteeing the supply of critical sectors such as airports, electricity plants and hospitals," said a statement issued after an emergency Cabinet meeting. The statement added that navy landing craft "will also contribute if necessary."
Earlier, representatives of truck drivers' unions from around the country decided to press on with their strike action, which entered its fifth day yesterday, following a long and tense meeting. According to sources, the president of the Confederation of Greek Truck Drivers, Giorgos Tzortzatos, called on protesters to show understanding to fellow citizens. "They must consider the difficulties their actions have caused for society at large and the difficult economic conditions that are currently prevailing in Greece," Tzortzatos was quoted as saying. Nevertheless, the truckers ultimately decided not to back down. "We will continue our strike in a dynamic way," Tzortzatos told reporters. In the early evening, hundreds of protesters staged a peaceful march to Parliament where they delivered a petition with their demands. The truckers want the government to revoke reforms to liberalize their sector by reducing license charges which, they say, is unfair to existing operators.
Transport Minister Dimitris Reppas, emerging from an emergency Cabinet meeting yesterday, appeared just as intransigent, insisting that the government would follow through with a mobilization order announced on Wednesday and force the truckers back to work. "The reform plan will go ahead," said Reppas, whose talks with unionists collapsed on Thursday. "Those who have a responsibility to society should assume it or they will be the ones to blame for whatever follows," Reppas said. "We exhausted every limit of good faith," he added.
The impact of the truckers' action on Greeks and tourists was evident yesterday. Motorists experienced problems as many gas stations remained without fuel. The problems were most acute in northern Greece.
In Thessaloniki yesterday evening, riot police clashed with truck drivers outside a refinery. The protesters had been trying to stop a truck from leaving the establishment.
Ferry passengers leave Piraeus
Ferry passengers get ready to leave Piraeus in one of 34 sailings from the port yesterday. Statistics made public yesterday by ELSTAT showed that passenger traffic was down 2 percent at Greek ports between April and June this year, compared to 2009.
State employs nearly 1 in 5 workers
Almost one in five Greeks who has a job is a civil servant, according to the results of the first ever census of public sector workers to be carried out in Greece, the results of which were made public yesterday.
Just over 768,000 state workers registered their details via an online system between July 9 and 29. The government launched the initiative after being pressured by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to record in more detail the size of the country's public sector work force. Before this exercise, only estimates existed about how many civil servants there were in Greece.
The information will also be used by the government to set up a new authority that will be responsible for paying all civil servants. At the moment, they are paid from a variety of ministry and other special accounts. [...]
From: Kathimerini
_____________ Still no gas, as truck drivers put foot down - 30 July, 2010
Talks with government reach stalemate
Hopes that gas stations would begin serving customers again yesterday after the government issued a civil mobilization order to force truckers back to work were doused when the drivers refused to comply.
Dozens of truck drivers gathered in front of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry in Athens yesterday morning to demand a meeting with government officials. Some protesters briefly scuffled with riot police, leading to tear gas being fired.
Representatives of various truckers' unions later secured a meeting with Transport Minister Dimitris Reppas. However, after almost five hours of talks, the two sides were unable to reach any compromise. The government insists that it will proceed with the liberalization of their sector but said that it would be willing to discuss various tax breaks and adjustments to the drivers' pensions. The truckers, however, are adamant that the government must drop its insistence on passing the current bill and instead draw up new legislation after extensive consultation with the drivers.
Members of the federation of the trucking unions are due to meet at noon today to decide what to do next. It seems likely that they will choose to continue their protests.
The government had hoped that by issuing the civil mobilization order on Wednesday, it would convince the protesters to end their strike, which has led to almost all of Greece's gas stations running out of fuel.
However, many drivers appeared determined yesterday to ignore the government's instructions and risk being put in jail and having their vehicles seized.
The civil mobilization order means that strikers are served with papers calling them up to the army and forcing them to return to work. Authorities began the process of delivering these documents to some 35,000 registered drivers. In Attica, 3,200 call-up papers were handed over to police, who are responsible for delivering them. By last night, only 224 had been delivered. In Thessaloniki, the prefecture did not prepare any call-up papers. The continuation of the strike meant that there were fuel deliveries to only 10 percent of gas stations in Attica and it is still not clear when customers will be able to fill up their vehicles without having to wait in long queues.
From: Kathimerini
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Forced end to truck strike - 29 July, 2010
PM signs order for civil mobilization; gas stations to resume serving customers today
Gas stations around the country are due to be refueled today after the government took the rare decision to order the civil mobilization of striking truck drivers, whose protest has led to widespread gasoline shortages.
Following the collapse of talks between the government and representatives of the truckers, Prime Minister George Papandreou signed the order that forces the drivers to return to work after three days of strike action. The premier's instructions also allow the transport and finance ministers to "take any other measures necessary to protect public goods that may be at risk from the disruption to the country's normal social and economic life."
Although a rare measure, civil mobilization, which effectively makes the drivers members of the armed forces and therefore subject to orders, has been called on in the past by Greek governments. Truckers were forced back to work in 1983 after a lengthy strike, Olympic Airlines staff had to resume their duties after a similar order in 1987 and both PASOK and New Democracy governments used civil mobilization to end strikes by seamen during the previous decade.
There had been hopes that the striking drivers might be able to find some grounds for compromise during a meeting yesterday with Transport Ministry officials but the two sides are too far apart. The truckers are unhappy about plans to liberalize their sector, which is limited to just 35,000 people due to the fact that operating licenses have not been issued for some 25 years. The government, under pressure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to carry out structural reforms that include opening up closed professions, has said it is not willing to back down. It has, however, indicated that it may offer the drivers some tax breaks.
"No special interest group has the right to hold Greek society hostage," said Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou. "No one has the right to paralyze this country. No one."
Gas station owners expect to receive fuel deliveries today and it is thought that most will be in a position to serve customers as usual by tonight.
From: Kathimerini
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Airport delays end, for now - 28 July, 2010
Delays at Greek airports eased significantly yesterday as air-traffic controllers ended a work-to-rule protest over pay and conditions after holding talks with representatives of the Transport Ministry.
The workers also called off a planned strike for this Saturday and are expected to hold further discussions with the government next week. On Sunday and Monday, they had been keeping to strict limits on the number of aircraft that could be in Greek air space at any one time, leading to delays for international and domestic flights.
The civil servants want to be given control of their department's budget. At the moment, the 653 air-traffic controllers, who earn an average monthly wage of 3,000 euros, are paid out of the money that Greece gets each year from the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), which collects various taxes from airlines.
Last year, Greece claimed 185 million euros from Eurocontrol. This money also covered the wages of some 3,500 civil aviation employees and the upgrading of equipment.
From: Kathimerini
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Air-traffic controllers delay flights - 27 July, 2010
Dozens of flights were delayed and several more canceled yesterday as air-traffic controllers entered the second day of a "work-to-rule" protest.
The workers also called a 24-hour strike for Saturday, after the Civil Aviation Authority said all their summer vacations would be suspended to minimize the impact of their action on flights during the peak season for tourism in Greece.
The workers, who are demanding better wages and the recruitment of more staff, launched their work-to-rule action early on Sunday, after an Athens court deemed their original plans to stage rolling 24-hour strikes illegal and abusive.
The air-traffic controllers have been observing strict limits on the number of aircraft allowed into Greek air space at any given time. Their action yesterday delayed more than 70 flights – chiefly domestic routes – by up to 30 minutes, sources at Athens International Airport said. The situation was worse on Sunday, when delays had stretched to four hours and passengers had been forced to camp out on the floor at Athens airport, waiting for news on their departures. Of the 294 scheduled departures from Athens airport on Sunday, three flights were canceled and around 180 delayed, the sources said. There were similar delays reported at Thessaloniki's international airport.
Representatives of Greece's tourism sector, which has been badly hit by a series of strikes by workers protesting the government's austerity measures, yesterday reiterated their criticism of the air-traffic controllers, noting that it was aggravating their problems.
From: Kathimerini
 At Chania Airport
Inconvenience to passengers
Hours of delays and inconvenience for hundreds of occupants were recorded and "Daskalogiannis Airport" in Chania by the 'legal strike' of air traffic controllers.
According to airport manager Mr. Tsiorou, during the weekend all flights were affected (about 60-70 flights) thus resulting in delays, which lasted from one to five hours.
Yesterday, however, the situation seemed to be normalized, because of a reduced number of flights.
As mentioned, the Aerolimenarchis of Chania said "the result plagued the traveling public and tested the facilities and services of the airport. Since it has a limited capacity of passenger and aircraft, this disruption led to an overcrowded airport. [...]"
But Mr Tsiorou wondered "what shall be done" in the coming days when the traffic starts to increase, because of the arrival of the British charters from today.
"Gradually, the situation seems normal. Today ( yesterday) we have fewer flights, the delays recorded are an hour or two hours. It's a relatively quiet day for the airport of Chania.
Tomorrow ( today) at noon will arrive English charters and we do not know how they will be handled by air traffic control . On Wednesday it starts again to be busy. The airport has a peak in traffic on Thursday and Saturday and if the solution can not be created associated problems will affect tourism and the image of the airport service, which is not possible to offer, without response and no responsibility to the overall dysfunctioning. It is the result of inadequate infrastructure, because when the airport serves flights that it has been designed to serve, we have no problem. In the past did not have problem when disservice to all this the volume of passengers and aircraft coming and going regularly. Beyond all will depend on the meeting of the Society of Accountants with the minister " said.
Please note that the rolling 24-hour strikes had announced that air traffic controllers from midnight Saturday declared illegal and abusive by the Administrative Court of Athens. The Air Traffic Controllers Association has decided to strictly comply with international regulations on airspace capacity by allowing a certain number of flights per hour.
This decision has led to flight delays since the summer, so when there is more tourist traffic, the number of flights handled per hour by air traffic controllers is higher.
From: Haniotika Nea
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Truck drivers launch strike - 26 July, 2010
Truck drivers yesterday launched open-ended strike action, expected to cause serious problems for supplies of fuel and other goods, to protest reforms aimed at opening up their sector to competition in line with European Union regulations and the government's commitments to its international creditors.
The truckers had been planning to launch their action on August 27 but started earlier to emphasize their opposition to looming reforms. State television broadcast images of protesters claiming to have been "deceived" by the government and pledging "to strike until death." The unionists' chief gripe is that, by raising the price of operating licenses, the government has undervalued the licenses they have. Thousands of motorists filled up their tanks yesterday, anticipating the dwindling supplies at gas stations as fuel truck drivers are to join in the action.
Flight disruptions
Workers' action causes delays, some cancellations
Air-traffic controllers on Saturday called off plans to stage rolling 24-hour strikes after a court ruled the scheduled action as illegal. But the workers, who are demanding better wages and the recruitment of more staff, launched a "work-to-rule protest" early yesterday. The action, set to continue this week, caused a few flight cancellations and delays as the controllers observed strict limits on the number of aircraft allowed into Greek air space at any given time. Representatives of the tourism sector, reeling from the impact of a series of strikes by workers protesting the government's austerity measures, have condemned air-traffic controllers for aggravating their problems.
Tourism probe
An Athens prosecutor on Saturday started examining the findings of a probe by state public administration officials regarding the alleged mismanagement of more than 70 million euros in funding destined for tourism promotion campaigns in 2008 and 2009. Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Giorgos Nikitiadis said that the case should be sent to Parliament if the prosecutor's probe ends up apportioning blame to politicians.
Teens rescued
Three French teenagers who had been reported missing in the Cretan prefecture of Hania late on Saturday after embarking on a hiking expedition were found early yesterday morning close to the Gouverneto Monastery where they had begun their walk. The two boys, aged 13 and 15, and the girl, aged 17, were unhurt, police on the island said.
From: Kathimerini
_____________ CIVIL SERVANTS - 24 July, 2010
Thousands have not registered
A government initiative to conduct an online census of the country's civil servants, which was due to conclude yesterday, was expected to be extended, as tens of thousands of public workers failed to register before the deadline. About 650,000 public servants had submitted their details on the Interior Ministry's website by late yesterday. At least 100,000 civil servants have yet to declare themselves. Civil servants have been told that failure to register will result in the suspension of their wages.
Heat wave
The City of Athens said yesterday that due to the high temperatures forecast for this weekend, its 21 air-conditioned friendship clubs would be open to the public on both days from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
From: Kathimerini
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Air-traffic controllers ponder strikes - 23 July, 2010
Air-traffic controllers, who earlier this week threatened to disrupt domestic and international flights as of this Sunday with rolling 24-hour strikes, indicated yesterday that they might call off their action if a court ruling expected today declares it illegal.
Commenting after the Civil Aviation Authority asked a judge for their threatened action to be declared "illegal and abusive," the controllers said they would reconvene tomorrow to decide on their course of action. The workers, who are demanding better wages and the hiring of more staff, said that even if their threatened rolling strikes are canceled, they will continue with a work-to-rule protest they launched this week, causing delays for a number of flights as they observe strict limits on the number of aircraft allowed in Greek air space at any given time.
In a related development yesterday, the Hellenic Association of Tourism and Travel Agents (HATTA) issued a statement condemning the air-traffic controllers for their threat to proceed with rolling strikes in the middle of the tourist season, as the sector has already been hard hit by a string of strikes and protests by workers protesting the government's austerity measures. In a written statement, HATTA said that such action would "be the nail in the coffin of what is left of the Greek tourism sector this year." Highlighting the adverse impact of previous strikes by air-traffic controllers and seamen on tourist arrivals in Greece this year, HATTA appealed to the protesting air-traffic controllers to show "maturity and cool-headedness." "Greek tourism is too vulnerable to withstand such a blow," the statement added.
The wrong time for protests
Air-traffic controllers are perhaps right to complain about the Socialist government's failure to cover extra pay for night and weekend shifts.
On the other hand, like most other labor groups, they also ought to show more understanding regarding the government's lack of liquidity, given the huge difficulties that the country is facing.
One would hope that they would refrain from action that could prove to be the last nail in the coffin for Greece's tourism this summer.
It is true that they have legitimate demands and their anger is justified. However, given the fiscal challenges facing the nation, we must all be patient and do our best to help pull the country out of the economic crisis.
If air-traffic controllers at the country's airports insist on conducting go-slow protests or other forms of strike action – and, moreover, in defiance of court rulings – they will eventually have to bear responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of their actions on the Greek economy.
From: Kathimerini
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Airport protests - 22 July, 2010
Air-traffic controllers carried out a work-to-rule protest yesterday, causing delays for a number of flights as they observed strict limits on the number of airplanes that could be in Greek air space at any given time. The controllers are demanding better wages and the hiring of more staff but the government has said that it cannot meet their demands. The civil servants said that they would hold rolling 24-hour strikes as of Sunday, although such action by air-traffic controllers is usually deemed illegal in court and prevented from going ahead.
From: Kathimerini
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