Recently the new British Ambassador to Greece, David Landsman, paid his first official visit to Corfu. Although much of the visit was of course devoted to official calls, I felt it was important that he see as much of this lovely island as he could. It was a very busy few days, which also took in an evening visit to the youth tourism resort of Kavos. We were the oldest people there! There was also a chance to learn about the historical past of the island such as The Reading Society founded in 1836 and housed in a lovely Venetian mansion overlooking the sea, and the Achilleion Palace built in 1890.
During the visit we had talks with our key local partners such as the Nomarch, Mayor of Corfu and Chief of Police; a chance to discuss a range of issues including tourism and of course the incidents that occur in Kavos. We had a friendly meeting with Tour Operators and got some vital insights into how things are going from their point of view this year. It’s clear that there is big competition out there now from the ‘ new destinations’ such as Turkey and Egypt, and other factors such as the strong Euro will all have an impact on tourism in Corfu and Greece as a whole. This comes as no surprise, and the Greek authorities have already acknowledged that this is no time for resting on laurels when it comes to tourism.
One of the recurring messages that came across was the effort to promote Corfu beyond Kavos. There is so much more to the island, but this is sometimes overshadowed by the incidents in Kavos. As a Consulate, our time is often taken up by the demands of this resort, the same goes for youth areas on other Greek islands. In my next blog I’ll be talking about the Embassy’s summer publicity campaign ‘There’s another side to Paradise’ which aims to prevent the problems we often deal with from happening in the first place.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a joint effort between Mayors, the Nomarch, locals and some Brits resident here in Corfu to try to promote a different kind of tourism. Whilst still welcoming youth tourists, they want to promote some of the cultural events the island offers. This includes a three month music festival and a cricket tournament between a British team and a Corfiot one. The tradition of cricket in Corfu dates back to 1823 and, so I have been told, the pitch on the Esplanade is the only one inside a UNESCO World Heritage site. The latest match happily co-incided with the Ambassador’s visit - the Corfiots were victorious and the Ambassador presented the winning trophies in temperatures not usually experienced on cricket pitches in the UK!
Posted at 12:47 22 June 2009 by Sarah Ticherou | Comments[0]
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