Temporarily, the Greek cruise market and in particular some Greek islands have benefited from the tragic events in Israel according to estimates from industry players. The Greek islands will benefit, estimates the President of the Union of Cruise Ship Owners and Shipping Agencies (EEKFN) Giorgos Koumbenas, while the honorary president of the Union, Theodoros Kontes, expresses the same assessment.
The news broadcast by the BBC about Greece's possible involvement in the war by sending a Greek warship to the border between Israel and Lebanon is not confirmed by sources of the Greek Navy.
Greece emerged as the "champion" throughout the EU in terms of the increase in commercial flights in September 2023 compared to the number of flights in 2019. The increase rate recorded by Greece amounted to 10.9%, followed by Portugal with 9.0% and further back Cyprus with 5.9%.
Looking at the data of the countries for September 2023, only 6 countries have exceeded the number of flights they had recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. It is thus confirmed that our country has the fastest recovery of air flights and the conquest of traffic levels above and from pre-pandemic levels.
Based on data released by Eurostat, in September 2023, there were 605,806 commercial flights in the EU, an increase of 7.9% compared to the number of flights in September 2022. However, the figure remained at 8.9 % lower than the number of flights for the same month in 2019.
The same trend was visible throughout June – August. All months saw a significant increase compared to 2022 – June 6.9%, July 7.4% and August 6.6%, but the figures were still lower than in 2019: June (-10.4%), July (-9.0%) ) and August (-8.5%).
Looking at the countries' data for September 2023, in relation to the number of their flights from 2019, apart from Greece, Portugal and Cyprus, the other countries with flight growth were Croatia (+2.6%), Ireland (+1, 4%) and Malta (+0.7%).
The biggest recovery to better levels since 2019, on a pan-European level, was recorded by Iceland – which does not belong to the EU – with an increase of around 20%.
In contrast, Latvia (-30.4%), Finland (-30.2%), Estonia (-25.4%), Sweden (-24.1%) and Slovenia (-22.9% ) are far from the 2019 figures.
At 12 noon, the Governmental National Security Council met six days after the dramatic developments in the Middle East and the war that started between Israel and Hamas.
The conflict in Israel has dealt a major blow to the tourist market of Thessaloniki, as 11% of overnight stays in the northern Greek city come from Israel.
Tomorrow, Friday, October 13, heating oil will make its surprise premiere.
Greece is forecast to maintain and increase a general government primary surplus in the coming years, according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Fiscal Monitor report on global fiscal developments released on Wednesday. The Greek general government primary balance is forecast to increase a surplus of 0.1% of GDP in 2022 to 1.0 pct of GDP in 2023 and 2% of GDP in 2024-2025, and then to 2.2% of GDP in subsequent years up until 2028, with a further reduction of Greece's public debt.
The Minister of Rural Development Lefteris Avgenakis will be in Thessaly again from Tuesday, in whose presence sectoral meetings will be held per product, so that together with the producers who have been affected, the next measures to support producers and restore agricultural production in the region can be specified.
Olive oil will remain expensive, at least for the next six months. And this is the optimistic prediction. Whether the "rally" will continue will become clear in the first months of 2024, when the new harvest olive oil enters the market, even if, according to all indications, production will be reduced, or next spring, when there will be the first indications of the production of the new growing season, especially in Spain.
Greece has the lowest quality of life index of all the EU member states, with more than 1 in 3 Greeks (36%) living with a low quality of life, while Romania is in second place and in fourth place Poland. In fact, people in Romania live fewer years of healthy survival (59.9 years) compared to the rest of the EU. (64 years).
One in three Greek households faces serious problems in heating their home - and not only that.
The "Island" program aims to achieve the energy autonomy of three small Greek islands, Chalkis, Kastellorizo and Antikythera, by the end of 2025. By applying innovative technologies and with a budget of 2.5 million euros from the Recovery Fund, they are planned to become "Green Island" standards at European and international level, upgrading the lives of residents, stimulating tourist interest and protecting their ecosystem.
Some electoral contests during the 2023 local elections seem to have generated even more interest because of the result.
The local government elections for the municipalities and regions may have voted in several mayors and regional governors from the very first round, but in some other cases, electoral thrillers took place.