CRETE 'S
MESSAGE TO TOURISTS:
COME IN, OUR WATER'S THE BEST
By Lou Duro
The waters of the beaches of Crete are
of excellent quality, among the best in Europe , according
to an annual report issued recently by the European Commission
on the quality of EU waters. In fact, the commission reported
that 99.9 percent of coastal waters of Greece are in top
shape and are suitable for swimming. The testing was done
in nearly 2,000 coastal areas throughout mainland Greece
and its islands, and all them met at least the minimum
requirement for cleanliness, while 97.6 percent were noted
to be of the highest quality, meeting even the strictest
criteria. In addition, all of the freshwater bodies of
water tested in Greece also conformed to the EU health
and hygiene standards.
Compared to the rest of Europe, Greece 's high score puts
it at the top of its class. Of the almost 14,000 coastal
areas in the EU tested, 96.7 percent were okay for swimming,
and only 88.5 percent came up to the strictest standards.
It was noted that some of the coastlines found unsuitable
for swimming were located in Germany and the Netherlands
, among others.
Waters were tested for five factors: total intestinal
bacteria, fecal bacteria, petroleum, surfactants and phenols.
Meanwhile, as Greek waters were proving to be perfect
for summer holidays, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was
boasting of other positive developments in tourism - even
going so far as to say that Greece has stabilized tourist
arrivals, and that a steady increase is expected over the
next few years.
At a recent press conference, the PM said the country was now registered as
a tourist destination to most of the new tourism markets around the world.
At the same time, he announced that museums and main archeological sites across
the country will be open longer this summer as part of an effort to boost the
country's tourism industry following the Athens Olympics. "Starting in
the first 10 days of June, all main museums will stay open from 8 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. at weekdays and weekends," Karamanlis told reporters after meeting
with top tourism officials. This is seen as a big improvement over previous
tourism seasons when most of Greek museums and archeological sites closed at
2 p.m. , often leaving tourists locked out of important sites. Only the Acropolis
closed at 6 p.m.
Karamanlis also noted that Greece was now promoting alternative
forms of tourism in the country, such as spa and agro-tourism,
while the ministry was even in the process of drafting
a new legislation on healthcare tourism. He said the Tourism
ministry would announce, in the next few days, the hiring
of new personnel for Greece 's National Tourism Organization's
offices around the world. The agency currently operates
a network of 23 offices, but plans to open another 49 new
offices soon. He emphasized that Greece was now considering
tourism as a main tool of economic growth and emphasized
that the government has achieved much in its 14 months
in office. "Ambitious goals have been set, many more
are expected to be achieved," he noted.
The PM's optimistic outlook of "economic growth" couldn't
have come at a better time, for the tourism industry in
particular - and the general population as well. According
to a recent survey conducted by Athens University, young
Greeks tend to be gloomy and insecure, uncertain about
their future and worried about job prospects. The nationwide
survey was conducted among 1,600 young men and women between
the ages of 15 and 29. Fifty percent of the group regards
unemployment to be the country's worst problem, while most
of them said that their main ambition regarding work was
just to earn a good salary.
And, while 64.3 percent of the young people in the study
said they felt proud to be Greek, the overwhelming majority,
a whopping 75 percent, attributed that sense of pride,
not to today's current affairs, but to the achievements
of the ancient Greek civilization - a culture that died
2,000 years ago!
No comments for this page. Feel free to be the first
|
