Tourism

Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who fail to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city's historic center during a time-limited pilot program launching later this month will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said on March 4.

Athens has a mountain of problems to contend with, from traffic to crime and the housing crisis to overtourism.

None of these is a problem that the municipal authority can deal with on its own. If the government does not work with it, it will be unable to make progress in any area.

The Committee for Aviation Tourism has been re-established by decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism.

Among its duties are the submission of proposals, opinions and legislative reforms to encourage tourism by small aircraft.

In response to the global shift towards environmentally sustainable tourism practices, the Culture and Tourism Ministry is taking decisive steps to enact climate-friendly tourism development legislation.

As a part of the 2024-2028 strategic plan, initiatives are underway to bolster cultural richness and tourism while addressing the issue of climate change.

Greece's Infrastructure and Transport along with the Tourism Ministry announced they are temporarily re-establishing the Committee for Aviation Tourism in a bid to encourage tourism by small aircraft.

BELGRADE - Serbia registered 9.2 pct more tourist visits in February 2024 relative to the same month of last year and the number of overnight stays was up by 1.7 pct y-o-y, according to figures released by the national statistical office.

Overnight stays generated by Serbian tourists were up by 2.1 pct y-o-y, while those generated by foreign tourists were up by 1.2 pct y-o-y.

Travelers and vacationers' spending is expected to be around 100 billion Turkish Liras during the upcoming nine-day Eid holiday, according to Firuz Bağlıkaya, the president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

Short-term rental accommodation in Greece is showing diametrically opposite trends at the moment, depending on the location. Based on the latest data, the superiority of Athens compared to the rest of the country is quite evident, as in the capital there is a clear upward trend, while in the rest of the country it is the opposite.

Despite promising signs for other parts of the country as regards the number of flights and seat bookings for the 2024 tourism season, Mykonos is seeing a decline in both indices for the second year in a row.

January posted a great increase in the number of tourists, but also in the money they spent during their stay in Greece, in what is usually a quiet month for tourism.

According to Bank of Greece data, the annual increase in receipts was 27% and visitors 16% - much higher than the already strong trend of 2023 but also the positive forecasts for 2024 (+10% in arrivals).