Πιο συγκεκριμένα, σύμφωνα με την ανακοίνωση της REDS πουλήθηκαν ακίνητα στην περιοχή Μαντινεία του Δήμου Τριπόλεως της Περιφερειακής Ενότητας Αρκαδίας, συνολικής επιφανείας 350 χιλ. τ.μ. περίπου, στην εταιρεία με την επωνυμία «ΔΗ-ΜΗΤΗΡ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΕΣ ΑΣΚΗΣΕΙΣ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑ».
Η ανωτέρω συναλλαγή έχει εγκριθεί από την Τακτική Γενική Συνέλευση της «REDS A.E» την 27.06.2014 και το τίμημα ανέρχεται στο ποσό €463.742.
Ryanair added 3 new routes to its Athens Summer 2015 schedule, to/from Budapest, Bratislava & Santorini, which will deliver over 2.2m customers in 2015 and support over 2,200* “on-site” jobs at Athens Airport, as Ryanair doubles its Athens traffic.
Ryanair’s extended Athens Summer 2015 schedule will deliver:
Greek customers and visitors can choose from 12 routes from Athens next summer, while enjoying allocated seating, a free 2nd carry-on bag, reduced fees, a new Greek website, a smartphone app with mobile boarding passes, and our new Family Extra and Business Plus services, making Ryanair the ideal choice for families, business and leisure travellers.
Ryanair will also continue to connect Athens with Europe’s major business centres, including Brussels (1 x daily), London (2 x daily) and Milan (10 x weekly) offering business customers the largest range of destinations at the lowest fares, with the most flights, improved schedules and best service, following the launch of Ryanair’s tailored business product, Business Plus.
Ryanair celebrated its extended Athens Summer 2015 schedule by releasing 100,000 seats for sale across its European network, at prices from €19.99 for travel in January, February and March 2015. These low fare seats are available for booking until midnight Thursday (18 Dec).
In Athens, Ryanair’s Chief Operating Officer, David O’Brien said: “Ryanair is pleased to announce an additional three new Athens routes to Budapest, Bratislava and Santorini, as part of an extended Summer 2015 schedule, as we add another aircraft to Athens, bringing our investment to over $400m.
With a total of 12 exciting summer routes to choose from, including a double daily service to Santorini, Ryanair will double its Athens traffic to over 2.2m customers this year and sustain over 2,200 jobs. As Greece’s fastest growing airline, we look forward to delivering further jobs, traffic and tourism growth across Greece.
Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs said: “Greek consumers already choose Ryanair for our low fares, industry leading customer service and great route choice. Now they can also book their summer 2015 flights on our new Greek website and great new app, carry a free small 2nd carry-on bag, enjoy allocated seats, avail of our new Family Extra and Business Plus services, and use their personal electronic devices at all stages of their flight, as Ryanair continues to deliver so much more than just the lowest fares.
To celebrate Ryanair’s additional investment in Athens, and 3 new routes for Summer ’15, we are releasing 100,000 seats on sale from €19.99 for travel in January, February and March 2015, which are available for booking until midnight Thursday (18 Dec). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto http://www.ryanair.com and avoid missing out.”
source: Ryanair
World Travel Market (WTM) Africa has already exceeded expectations for 2015 through a phenomenal growth in exhibitor attendance, attributed to the overwhelming response and interest in Africa’s fastest growing inbound and outbound trade show, the only trade show of its kind on the African continent. WTM Africa is quickly becoming the leading B2B exhibition for the travel industry in South Africa and Africa alike.
In collaboration with the City of Cape Town, the event that puts the world’s spotlight on Africa and promotes Africa to the world, will be taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 15 – 17 April 2015. Based on the magnitude of the 2015 show, the extended 3 day event programme will allow visitors and international buyers more time and a substantially bigger pool of exhibitors to form integral relationships with. The strategic platforms available such as the tactical networking sessions specifically designed to cater for travel professionals, the WTM Buyers Club, the Hosted Buyers Programme as well as the world-renowned WTM Africa exhibition ensures key quality relationship building. This expansion will allow for further economic growth in both local and international markets and is pivotal in taking the travel industry to the next level.
WTM Africa’s inaugural event in 2014 recorded remarkable results which saw approximately 4,000 industry professionals negotiate deals worth $314 million (£189 million). As a result of these impressive figures, WTM Africa 2015 exhibition space is quickly filling up and is soon to be at maximum capacity, making the popular trade show bigger and better than 2014 already.
To add further excitement around WTM Africa 2015, the portfolio is proud to announce new and internationally acclaimed industry suppliers to the exhibition such as Sun International, Radisson Blu, Tsogo Sun and Africa Travel Concepts.
Alison McKie, Group Marketing Manager for Sun International says: “Sun International is delighted to confirm our participation in World Travel Market Africa 2015. The event created a significant impact within the African business and leisure travel markets and we are confident it is the right platform for our properties to build business and business opportunities throughout 2015 and 2016.”
WTM Africa forms part of Africa Travel Week which comprises of three co-located industry events namely International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Africa, International Business Travel Market (IBTM) and WTM Africa.
That’s the question on the lips of many real estate agents and property developers. Our team hears it regularly from new customers.
You might be surprised by the answer. In this post, we’ll explain what the Great Firewall is, how it affects your property listings and how you can use it to your advantage.
China has more than twice as many internet users as any other country. And its population of 1.3 billion means its number of internet users could more than double in the years to come.
Wealthy Chinese in particular turn to the internet as their number one source of information. 65% call it their “preferred” source of information and 83% use it every single day.
That’s why it’s so important to market your real estate online – it’s the best way to reach a very large and growing audience of potential buyers.
And this is where the Great Firewall comes in. Rather than leave it to international institutions, China has preferred to manage its own internet. It’s hard to argue with their success.
Besides ensuring wide access, they have enabled a system that creates huge amounts of online content. Today there are nearly as many pages online in Chinese as in any other language.
In just a couple of years, Chinese will edge into the top spot online, becoming the top language on the internet.
The “Great Firewall of China” is a cute name for a massive amount of ugly cables, switches, servers and who-knows-what-other hardware. Its one and only job is to scan and sometimes block webpages from outside of China, before web users can see them inside of China.
The government is looking for objectionable content. The presence of just a single black-listed keyword can cause your site to be blocked in China. The thing is, no list of keywords to avoid is publicly available. Furthermore, the list of keywords changes constantly depending on what is happening in China.
The Great Firewall of China affects your website and the portals you advertise on in one of two ways:
These slow load times and blocked pages are a serious problem for international property marketers. Google has researched the problem of site speed. The search giant found that users spend less time and do fewer property searches on slow websites.
Even a delay of just one fifth of a second has been shown to cut user page views and searches.
The delay that Chinese users experience when trying to access international sites is much longer than that. Because it’s our business, we have tested agent websites and real estate portals in 53 countries.
All too often, we find that it takes 30 seconds, a minute or even 1.5 minutes for the sites to load up and appear on our screen in China. Then, when you do a property search or click on a listing, it takes just as long to load the second page, and so on.
What’s worse is that results can be unpredictable – one day your website may load quickly, the next day not at all.
Don’t feel bad. Your website isn’t the only one that Chinese internet users can’t see. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, The Wall Street Journal…there are many sites that just don’t work in China.
In fact, these sites can cause even more problems for your website. If you happen to have installed anyplugins or widgets from Facebook or another blocked website, that in itself can be a reason for your website to be blocked.
This, in summary then, is the Great Firewall of China and how it affects your listings:
It’s a system that blocks or slows down the load times of websites hosted/located outside of China – that means your listings, on your own site and on your local portal, are very likely not visible to Chinese property hunters.
Slow websites. Blocked websites. Lost page views. Lost leads. Lost sales…it sounds like a disaster doesn’t it? Could there be anything good about this from the perspective of you, the property marketer?
Actually, yes. The Great Firewall could be good for you. In fact, it could be very good indeed.
Here’s how to use the Chinese Firewall to your advantage: You simply have to ensure that it applies only to other people. You know, like your competitors.
In battle, generals usually try to position their troops on top of a hill. That way, the steep slope only creates problems for their enemies, who have to climb up the hill to attack. Well, silly as it might sound, the Great Firewall of China is like that hill.
You have two choices. You can be the general who gets on top of the hill first OR you can be the general whose troops have to slog up the hill in full battle gear – while being shot at from above.
To be the general on top of the hill, the one who turns China’s Great Firewall into an advantage, all you have to do is list your properties on a website hosted inside China. A website like Juwai.com, for example.
Αποκαλυπτική έρευνα για τον τουρισμό στο νησί δείχνει επίσης ότι πάνω από 6 στους 10 επιλέγουν ξενοδοχεία. Συγκεκριμένα:
Το 62% των ξένων επισκεπτών επιλέγει ξενοδοχειακές μονάδες και καταλύματα του Πλατανιά και της Αγίας Μαρίνας .
Ο μέσος ορος διακοπών είναι 8-9 ημέρες.
Το 68% των επισκεπτών επιλέγει ξενοδοχεία, το 25% ενοικιαζόμενα δωμάτια διαμερίσματα και «στούντιος», ενώ ένα 7% άλλο χώρο. Από αυτούς που επιλέγουν ξενοδοχεία, το 76% προτιμά 3 και 4 αστέρων και ένα ποσοστό 31% το πλήρες πακέτο διαμονής και διατροφής.
Για να κάνουν τις κρατήσεις τους, σε ποσοστό 55% επέλεξαν κάποιο ιδιωτικό γραφείο και τουριστικό πράκτορα, ενώ το 66% θεωρεί φυσιολογικές τις τιμές στα καταλύματα.
Ένα ακόμα σημείο της έρευνας αφορά την αγοραστική προτίμηση των επισκεπτών σε αγροτικά προϊόντα, με το κρασί σε ποσοστό 44,8% να κερδίζει τις προτιμήσεις. Ακολουθούν οι χυμοί πορτοκαλιού 41,2,% το ελαιόλαδο 39,8%, τα τυριά 33,2%, το μέλι 30,5%, τα λαχανικά 29,2% , η τσικουδιά 28,2%, το ελαιοσάπουνο 28,2% , τα παξιμάδια 16,2% και τα αρωματικά φυτά 7,9%.
Investors are warily eying a return to Greece and confidence is beginning to grow again, George Logothetis, Chairman and CEO of the international conglomerate Libra says.
In an interview with the news agency Reuters, Lotothetis said that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ implementation of harsh austerity measures, the trigger to bringing in more bailout monies, has steadied market nerves.
“The most important subject the Samaras government has confronted is (that) they have reduced the uncertainty of Greece leaving the euro,” he said in an interview this week.
”You don’t hear about that anymore. That needed to always predicate investment coming into the country.”
“We do see movement in Greece today … money is coming back,” New-York based Logothetis said on a visit to London.
The company, which is based on both cities, has purchased around $5 billion of assets globally since a worldwide recession in 2008, and is stepping up investments in Greece, especially in the hotel and renewable energy sectors, he said.
Libra recently launched the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award, which offers entrepreneurs in Greece the chance to receive funding of up to €500,000 plus comprehensive mentoring and consultancy for a new business venture. (Read the full story)
Logothetis said Greeks are eager to overcome a crushing economic crisis in which pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions have pushed 20 percent of the people into poverty.
“There is a lot of pent-up ambition from Greeks to fight for a better life,” Logothetis said. “Greek laziness and incompetence is a fallacy,” he added, trying to dispel commonly-held beliefs about the lack of a Greek work ethic.
Libra, which is privately owned by the Greek Logothetis family, owns the luxury Grace Hotels global brand, which began in Greece.
“One of the most important lead indicators in our businesses globally is advanced bookings on hotels. From what I understand, it is shaping up to be a much better (Greek) tourist season this year,” Logothetis told Reuters.
Logothetis said Libra aimed to expand its energy business in Greece after making acquisitions in wind parks and the solar energy sector. They were also looking at investments in the retail market and developing their real estate business there.
Libra Group, created in 2003, has 30 operating subsidiaries and 25 offices with five core divisions comprising hospitality, aviation, shipping, real estate and renewable energy with other interests including media, construction and services companies and an equity brokerage.
The group grew from a shipping business started in 1976 by Michael Logothetis. His son George, 38, took over the running of the shipping business in 1993 and between 2004 and 2007 they sold their fleet of 70 ships at the height of a shipping market boom before a sector slump in 2008.
Logothetis said they made “a substantial amount of money” from the sale. He declined to say how much, but a single, five-year old supertanker was valued at $120 million at the time, Baltic Exchange data showed, while vessel earnings during the boom years added to the company’s wealth.
“The idea behind Libra was to diversify away from shipping to create a global group, using the top lieutenants we had worked with in the preceding years,” he said. “We feel safe that whatever comes, we confront it. We have a growing group and we bought a lot of cheap assets in the last five years. During this depression, recession, call it what you want, not all markets move in tandem,” he said.
Logothetis said investment funds and private equity companies were starting to look at Greek firms and banks were starting to look at lending again. His company has managed to acutely gauge markets and know when to buy and when to sell. Its aviation branch bought 25 planes between 2004 and 2007 and sold them in 2007 before the global downturn. They resumed making aviation investments in 2009, including a move into the helicopter leasing sector after signing a $400 million order to buy aircraft from AgustaWestland.
Logothetis said the company, through its subsidiary Lomar, planned to expand into shipping after returning in 2009 with the acquisition of Australia’s Allocean group and its fleet.
“We have 40 ships on the water right now. We have bought a few in the last month and we have up to 18 ships on order,” he said.
Logothetis said the shipping market would recover. “Quite when is the magic word – it’s a cycle. No crisis lasts forever, no boom lasts forever and ships are in our blood.”
– See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/libra-group-stepping-up-investments-in-greece/#sthash.zMUUk9wz.dpuf
A new survey, commissioned by All Nippon Airways (ANA) for the US market, has found that 72% of U.S. airline passengers have felt anxious about flying before. The most anxious flyers find takeoff to be the most stress-inducing part of the journey (68%), which is why Japan’s largest airline, ANA, developed ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’, specifically designed to relax and take people’s minds off the takeoff.
The ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ app takes the form of a simple but absorbing puzzle where users have to maneuver a ball on screen to collect points, with relaxing music playing in the background. What really makes the app truly unique; however, is that it measures the amplitude and frequency response of the ambient noise inside the aircraft cabin. When the aircraft’s engines are at full throttle during takeoff, the audio profile triggers a special animation and message for the user. (The surrounding environment may affect how the app detects takeoff.)
The puzzle aspect of the game should prove particularly appealing. In the ANA survey, puzzle games ranked second only to listening to music when it came to ways that passengers relaxed while flying (61% of people relax by listening to music; 56% by playing puzzle games). Reading, watching TV and falling asleep came in not far behind (54%, 48% and 46% respectively).
The ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ is one of the first smartphones apps to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s announcement on October 31, 2013 that airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices during all phases of flight.
“ANA offers a unique flight experience with staff paying attention to even the smallest detail to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight for all our customers. Consideration has gone into every stage of the passenger journey, from our flagship lounges in Tokyo to our award winning ‘Connoisseurs’ inflight dining experience. Now we hope that the ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ will ease and relax flyers, allowing them to enjoy their flight with ANA from the very beginning.” said Masaki Yokai, VP Marketing & Sales The Americas.
Sustainable development of tourism at religious heritage sites was in focus at the International Conference on Religious Heritage and Tourism: Types, trends and challenges, jointly organized by UNWTO, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism of Spain and the City Hall of Elche (27-28 November 2014, Elche, Spain).
According to UNWTO estimates, 300 to 330 million tourists visit the world´s key religious sites every year, with approximately 600 million national and international religious voyages in the world, 40% of which take place in Europe. Being key tourism destinations, religious heritage sites not only drive international tourism and economic growth, but also provide important meeting grounds for visitors and host communities, making vital contributions to tolerance, respect and mutual understanding between different cultures.
With this backdrop, the International Conference on Religious Heritage and Tourism explored the main challenges and best practices for sustainable tourism development at religious sites in the city of Elche, Spain, home to the Mystery Play of Elx, the last living testimony of European religious theatre of the Middle Ages and declared a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
“Among the many motivations for travelling, visiting cultural or religious sites ranks high on travelers’ wish lists. Leveraging the growing interest for religious tourism worldwide is not only beneficial for the tourism sector, but crucial in building cultural dialogue and peace”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, opening the Conference. “Religious tourism can also be a powerful instrument for raising awareness regarding the importance of safeguarding one´s heritage and that of humanity, and help preserve these important sites for future generations”, he added.
The Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, Isabel Borrego, highlighted the fruitful cooperation between UNWTO and Spain in further spreading awareness of the value of historical, cultural and artistic heritage, and stressed the importance of this particular tourism segment for Spain. “There is not a single town or city in Spain where you won’t find traditions, festivals religious celebrations, pilgrimages, monasteries, cathedrals or pilgrimages. Religious tourism boosts economic activity and helps safeguard our rich historic heritage, and will play an essential role in the future of the tourism sector.”
The Mayor of Elche, Mercedes Alonso García, said: “Tourists are not only seeking to experience nature but also the most deeply rooted creations of the human spirit. In this sense, and as this conference has shown, a quality tourism offer consists of tangible cultural and religious heritage, as well as the intangible realities and cultural events fostered by them.”
During the Conference, participants highlighted the role of religious heritage sites and religious traditions in educating future generations and creating a sense of belonging in host communities, the need to preserve the integrity and authenticity of these sites and having local communities benefiting from tourism development.
Participants also highlighted that tourism has become one of the forces driving preservation in many religious sites due to the growing secularization of society, and that for tourists interacting with other religions is a unique experience that can only happen within the full respect for host communities.
A new survey, commissioned by All Nippon Airways (ANA) for the US market, has found that 72% of U.S. airline passengers have felt anxious about flying before. The most anxious flyers find takeoff to be the most stress-inducing part of the journey (68%), which is why Japan’s largest airline, ANA, developed ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’, specifically designed to relax and take people’s minds off the takeoff.
The ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ app takes the form of a simple but absorbing puzzle where users have to maneuver a ball on screen to collect points, with relaxing music playing in the background. What really makes the app truly unique; however, is that it measures the amplitude and frequency response of the ambient noise inside the aircraft cabin. When the aircraft’s engines are at full throttle during takeoff, the audio profile triggers a special animation and message for the user. (The surrounding environment may affect how the app detects takeoff.)
The puzzle aspect of the game should prove particularly appealing. In the ANA survey, puzzle games ranked second only to listening to music when it came to ways that passengers relaxed while flying (61% of people relax by listening to music; 56% by playing puzzle games). Reading, watching TV and falling asleep came in not far behind (54%, 48% and 46% respectively).
The ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ is one of the first smartphones apps to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s announcement on October 31, 2013 that airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices during all phases of flight.
“ANA offers a unique flight experience with staff paying attention to even the smallest detail to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight for all our customers. Consideration has gone into every stage of the passenger journey, from our flagship lounges in Tokyo to our award winning ‘Connoisseurs’ inflight dining experience. Now we hope that the ‘ANA Takeoff Mode’ will ease and relax flyers, allowing them to enjoy their flight with ANA from the very beginning.” said Masaki Yokai, VP Marketing & Sales The Americas.
The 8th consecutive edition of LPS will be held on December 12-14, 2014, at the iconic Shanghai Marriott City Centre. The international real estate expo will provide a unique opportunity for Shanghai’s elite home buyers to interact with international leading luxury real estate experts in a prestigious setting.
Much more than just a real estate expo, LPS Shanghai is a unique concept, specifically designed for the China market.
LPS Shanghai 2014 is an invitation-only expo, welcoming highly targeted luxury real estate buyers, investors, VIPs and wealthy individuals. Over 5,000 targeted visitors are anticipated to visit this year’s expo.
Sponsored by Ferrari, M1NT Club and Azimut Yachts, LPS Shanghai 2014 will be held at the iconic Shanghai Marriott City Centre, right in the heart ofdowntown Shanghai. This central high-end location, combined with the participation of world-famous luxury brands, will create a unique and captivating atmosphere, the perfect environment to stage luxury properties.
LPS Shanghai will present luxury properties from a wide range of countries, regions and cities and will focus on showcasing all types of international high-end properties, from ski resorts to private islands, from historical Chateaux to luxury condominiums.
The real estate expo will present a balanced selection of properties located in the world’s most desirable areas: China, USA, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Cyprus, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and many more.
In addition to the three-day property exhibition, LPS Shanghai 2014 will be holding a full set of super-exclusive on-site events to keep the international real estate expo alive and maximize interactions between exhibitors and visitors.
Exciting events taking place during the three days of the Show include the glamorous LPS Gala Cocktail Part, the VIP Grand Opening reception, the LPS International Real Estate Forums & Conferences, the Luxury Italian reception, private gala dinners and exclusive wine tastings.
LPS Shanghai exhibitors are able to stay in touch with show visitors beyond the Show itself, thanks to the full set of LPS online and offline publications. These include LPS Shanghai Show Magazine, the targeted LPS Shanghai Newsletters and the official LPS Website.
Buy2Greece.com 