Greece expecting 19 million tourists this year

The association of Greek tourism enterprises SETE reiterated its confidence that the target of 19 million tourist arrivals set for 2014 will be met.

According to SETE’s data on international arrivals in the January-July period, all the major airports in the country posted double-digit increases in July.

The highest rates were recorded in Athens (an increase of 31 per cent), Chania (22.9 per cent), Mykonos (39.9 per cent), Santorini (26.7 per cent) and Kalamata (62.5 per cent).

Turkish ship that ran aground in Aegean Sea may cause ‘catastrophe’

A Turkish cargo ship that ran aground off the Greek island of Mykonos may lead to an “environmental catastrophe,” officials have warned.

The vessel, named the Yusuf Çepnioğlu, had been anchored at a port in the western province of Izmir en route to Tunisia. It was abandoned by its crew after it ran into rocks off the coast of Mykonos and began taking in water on March 7. The ship was carrying 200 tons of fuel.

Turkish container ship runs aground off Greek island of Mykonos. -Marine pollution near the shore?

Crew rescued by coastguard after water floods engine room.
KOMOTINI, Greece
Fourteen sailors had to be rescued after a Turkish cargo ship ran aground near the Greek island of Mykonos on Friday night.
The 6,928-deadweight tonne container ship, the 'Yusuf Cepnioglu', had been anchored at a port in the western Turkish city of Izmir [Σμύρνη] en route to Tunisia.
The ship, with 14 personnel aboard, ran aground on the northwestern shore of Mykonos at 03:30 GMT on Friday night.

Mykonos: A refreshing cocktail of contrasts

Paraportiani, Hora, Mykonos. (Wikipedia/Bernard Gagnon)

-

MYKONOS, Greece: Mykonos is nobody’s secret – for almost half a century the Greek island has been honing its cosmopolitan welcome, luring celebrities, tour groups, families and backpackers alike to its warm but refreshingly breezy shores.
Yet, while thronged annually by a million tourists of every ilk, this 85-square-kilometer arid granite rock in the Aegean Sea is overlaid with a quaint, undisturbed charm.
Blue-trimmed, whitewashed buildings restricted from rising higher than two-stories stud hillsides divided into plots by dry stone walls. Narrow country roads twist across the landscape before winding down to sheltered coves. Small white churches, some 900 of them, scattered across the terrain speak of homey, island traditions.