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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-09-23Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Finance Minister Tsakalotos' meeting with IMF's Velculescu completedFinance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos met on Friday with the head of IMF's delegation for Greece Delia Velculescu.The IMF delegation extended its stay in Greece in order to gather upadated data on the Greek economy ahead of the Fund's annual report. The report is expected to be released in November and will contribute to the Sustainability Report (DSA) on the Greek debt that will be issued by the IMF until the end of the year. [02] Mariculture industry a driving force of the economyA positive growth outlook of the aquaculture industry globally, a know-how that has developed in the country all these years and a restructuring of companies in the sector were creating conditions capable to attract new investment capital, highlighting Greek aquaculture industry not only as a driving force of the Greek economy but to a leader of activity in primary sector, focusing on innovation and sustainability, Antonis Hahlakis, president of the Federation of Greek Mariculture told ANA on Friday.The president of FGM said the Greek mariculture sector established its global presence thanks to the work and ideas of Greek producers without any significant national support or national development strategy. This led the sector to a deep economic crisis and as a result of an economic crisis in Greece and the lack of liquidity production fell significantly from 145,000 tons in 2012 to 115,000 tons in 2015, while production grew in neighboring Turkey at the same time. The Turkish mariculture sector supported by a national strategy strengthened significantly in the last seven years through state subsidies and procedures facilitating production growth, in contrast with what EU and Greek producers were experiencing, Hahlakis said. He noted however that despite hard economic conditions, the future of mariculture was extremely favorable in international markets with the World Food Organization estimating demand for sea food to grew by 30 million tons by 2030, a demand that cannot be met by the fishing industry. "It is a big opportunity and the question is whether we will exploit this in Greece or leave others to lead. We have the will, dynamism and the means to play a major role in a collective effort necessary to benefit not only the sector but the country in general," he stressed. [03] Greek civil aviation sector growing steadilyGreece's civil aviation sector is growing steadily in the last few years, an ICAP Group report said, with traffic in the country's airports surpassing 430,000 flights in 2015, with more than 49 million passengers, an increase of 10 pct compared with 2014.Today, as regards domestic and international air transport, there is complete liberalization of fares, routes and capacity, and currently 21 Greek air carriers operate in the aviation industry (passenger and cargo air transport), which have been licensed by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, while there are more than 20 ground services companies operating in Greek airports. Based on group balance sheet of 18 Greek airline companies, assets grew 11.5 pct in 2014/2013, while sales rose 6.4 pct and gross earnings jumped 20.4 pct. Net pre-tax earnings rose 24.5 pct in 2014 and EBITDA rose 24.5 pct in the same year. A total of 12 out of the 18 companies in the survey were profitable in 2014. A group balance sheet of 15 ground services companies showed a 13.5 pct increase in assets in 2014, sales rose 10.1 pct and gross earnings jumped 41.1 pct. EBITDA more than doubled in 2014, while a total of 12 companies out of the 15 in the survey were profitable. [04] The Greeks travel despite the economic crisis, Manessis says"The Greeks turn again to family packages and continue to travel despite the economic crisis" Andreas Manessis, founder and Chief Executive Officer in Manessis Travel, said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.Over 100,000 people travel with Manessis every year, the CEO said adding that its target group focuses mainly on ages between 20 and 40. Greece is one of the countries with the lowest prices in family packages, Manessis explained, although taxes are rather high. "The Greek state does not support the Greek travellers," he said referring to the 25 pct tax on tourism and added that the high airport fees render the access to the Athens International Airport difficult. Apart from the markets of Britain, France, Italy and Russia where Greece has always had a strong presence, a lot of tourists from India and the Middle East choose our country for their vacations, he underlined. Asked on the prospects of Athens as a city break, he expressed his optimism citing a series of new hotels opening their doors in the capital. Manessis Travel, one of the leading travel organizations in Greece, was founded in 1988. L.Chotzoglou Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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