Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-01-03

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Toll rate increases

[02] Holiday travel slumps

[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Toll rate increases

At the Afidnes station, the new rates will be 1.40 euros for motorcycles, 2.05 euros for cars, and 5.20 and 7.25 euros for medium-size and large-size trucks respectively.

At the Thebes station, the new rates will be 1.70 euros for motorcycles, 2.50 euros for cars, and 6.25 and 8.80 euros for medium-size and large-size trucks respectively.

At the Tragana station, the new rates will be 1.65 euros for motorcycles, 2.40 euros for cars, and 6.10 and 8.50 euros for medium-size and large-size trucks respectively.

At the Aghia Triada station, the new rates will be 1.10 euros for motorcycles, 1.55 euros for cars, and 3.95 and 5.55 euros for medium-size and large-size trucks respectively.

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[02] Holiday travel slumps

The reduction in holiday travel mainly concerns the middle incomes, which are traditionally the staple clientele of travel bureaus, which attribute the decline chiefly to the economic crisis, according to representatives of Athens-based travel offices.

Organised trips to European countries, in particular, fell by 45-50 percent over the holidays, while domestic tourism dropped by 25 percent, Christoforos Mouzakis, director of organised trips to European destinations at a major travel agency in Athens, told ANA-MPA.

He said that the 400, 500 and 700 euros travel package visitors to central European destinations -- mainly civil servants and public sector employees, was the category worst hit, followed by young couples and families, indicating that the cause was the economic crisis.

Conversely, however, the more expensive packages for destinations abroad, such as the US, were not affected, as such destinations have a limited number of customers to begin with and also attract higher income travelers.

Mouzakis further noted that most of the travelers booked their trips at the last minute, waiting first for the special discount packages to be announced by the travel bureaus.

Another Athens-based travel bureau director for ticket and hotel booking, Roula Krezia, told ANA-MPA that a slump was recorded over the holidays in airline ticket bookings for such destinations as Prague, Vienna and Budapest which, she noted, are both inexpensive destinations and the local hotels were offering reduced prices.

Krezia further noted that travelers over the holidays generally avoided organised trips abroad and opted instead for individual bookings, seeking inexpensive solutions over the internet. Indeed, she added, a slump was also recorded in the most popular domestic destinations, such as Pilion and the Zagorochoria, while the destinations closer to Athens, such as Nafplio and Loutraki, fared a bit better.

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[03] Athens Newspaper Headlines

The increase of the 11 percent VAT to 13 percent, the economy and the bomb attack at a Coptic church in Alexandria were the main front-page items in Monday's dailies.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "350 million euros 'bribe' to Goldman Sachs".

AVRIANI: "Hundreds of thousands small and medium size enterprise (SME) businessmen and self-employed professionals being sent to jail".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "New Year with unbearable price and rate increases".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "What we will be paying with the new 13 percent VAT".

ESTIA: "2011 a turning point".

ETHNOS: "Sweeping changes in real estate market in 2011".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Countdown for return to the markets".

TA NEA: "Burglary at Athens City Hall".

VRADYNI: "New bomb for households due to higher VAT on foods, utility prices and fuel".

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