hotel capacity undergoes a stage of fast refurbish-
ment and upgrading.
Summarising expectations for 2016, Alternate
Minister of Tourism Elena Koundoura, stressed
that: “Leading international tour operators give
their vote of confidence to Greece, and this makes
us very proud. We worked methodically and quiet-
ly, implementing our national tourist strategy in
order to strengthen and develop Greek tourism,
and this has borne fruit. We will sustain our target-
ed efforts, in order to lay the groundwork for growth
that will sustained in the years to come.”
One could say that the previous year points to the
path of success for 2016, making Greece even
more attractive for its visitors. History and culture,
combined with an unmatched natural environment,
produce a unique background. The strong per-
formance of Athens, improved performance in the
cruise sector, both in Piraeus and in other ports
around the country, the enhancement of theme
tourism in regard to both open-air or wining and
dining activities, the strengthening of mainland
Greece (apart from the islands) with new infra-
structure and an upgraded product, the sun and
the sea, the competitive prices, the feeling of secu-
rity and, above all, the Greeks’ warm smiles make
us even more confident that the millions of friends
about to visit our country this year will be totally sat-
isfied with their choice.
Meaningful distinctions
Can many individual distinctions lead to other,
more important ones? Definitely, provided that they
indicate positive general developments, especially
if there are combined with synergies, with obvious
multiplying effects.
Recently, Frommer’s, the US-based travel guide,
ranked the Athens Metro among the top ten sub-
way systems in the world. Remember that
Frommer’s was founded in 1957 and has pub-
lished more than 350 travel guides, selling more
than 75 million copies worldwide.
“Subways Worth the Ride” is the title of the relevant
article at Frommers.com, where it is stated that
“Other than safety, cleanliness, and cost, it doesn’t
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