Service industries

An announcement of a major hike in the cost of top-up health insurance has caused an outcry in Slovenia and revived calls for ending this type of insurance, which is voluntary but required for virtually every type of health service bar emergency care and which is collected by private insurers.

The value of debit and credit cards transactions by Greeks last year reached 49.6 billion euros, accounting for approximately 38% of private consumption.

A month after 12 students at Greece's largest university were killed in a train crash, messages of grief across the campus are tinged with rage.

"This crime will not be forgotten," a note on a makeshift memorial at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki reads.

Next month's 7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum will bring together top executives and industry leaders from the international cruise sector to discuss the challenges and potential of the industry and highlight the importance of the region and the need for new destinations to keep pace with the industry's rapid growth and emerging trends.

Slovenia's leading insurance groups, Triglav and Sava, saw a decline in profit last year despite higher revenue and gross written premiums, a development they attribute to higher claims and inflation.

The discovery of dozens of beakers and bowls in a mummification workshop has helped reveal how ancient Egyptians embalmed their dead, with some "surprising" ingredients imported from as far as Southeast Asia, a study said on Feb. 1.

The appeal of Greece and the East Mediterranean as an ideal region for luxury cruising will be one of the main highlights of the 7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum (PSTF), scheduled to take place in Thessaloniki on April 25 and 26.

Hoteliers in Antalya, which has received serious immigration from two countries since the start of the war in Ukraine, have proposed that the invoices and accommodation documents to be given to the tourists staying in small and medium-sized hotels be accepted as lease contracts.

The move could help stop the exorbitant increases in house prices and rents, according to the hoteliers.

In partnership with the hotel chain Accor, Mogotel Hotel Group has launched its first two Ibis Styles hotels in Slovenia by rebranding Hotel Central and The Fuzzy Log in Ljubljana's city centre.

The largest hotel operator in the Baltic countries, Mogotel Hotel Group leased the two Ljubljana hotels in summer last year for 20 years for a combined €12 million.

Greek hoteliers have signed contracts with major foreign tour operators with price hikes between 10% and 15% for the 2023 season.