All posts by Macfivenews

Motoring and travel journalist, opinionated gob on a stick
Travel

Keep Larnaka in focus

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The Palm Beach Hotel in Larnaka will reopen for business

Larnaka Tourism Board’s latest newsletter asks readers to ‘keep Larnaka in their heart’ as Covid-19 lockdown continues and this Cyprus regional tourist board adds home experiences for all on social media platforms. To read the spring newsletter, please follow the link here. 

Experience Larnaka from Home

Larnaka Tourism Board posts videos posted on LTB’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter  each week. The first in the series was local basket weaver, Petros Nicolaou of the Basket Workshop & Museum in Choirokoitia village. Petros explains the different types of baskets made with wheat stick stems, reeds and bamboo, and traditionally used in the Cypriot home.

The second video is filmed at the family friendly Golden Donkeys Farm in Skarinou village. This donkey sanctuary allows visitors to meet the donkeys and holds various traditional festivals during the year. The video highlights the superior nutritional qualities of donkey milk.

Looking Forward to ‘Sunnier’ Times

When the resort can reopen there will be new hotels and accommodation available for visitors explains  CEO of Sunnyseeker Hotels and Board Member of the Larnaka Tourism Board, Marios Polyviou.

Sunnyseeker Hotels is the largest hotel group in Larnaka region and opened the region’s first hotel by an international brand (the Radisson Blu). The group currently operates six hotels and serviced apartments and has an additional three hotels in the pipeline branded under the Radisson, Intercontinental and Best Western chains.

On a personal level, Mr Polyviou’s favourite parts of Larnaka, includes the Finikoudes promenade especially the stretch of the promenade that extends along the Piale Pashia walkway, which Mr Polyviou says is filled with diverse views: “This area offers visitors amazing views of Larnaka Bay, and the scenery is so different from morning to afternoon and across all seasons.”  

Stories from the Statues

Larnaka Town is home to a number of historic statues, each one has an interesting and unique story to tell and soon they will be able to recount it ‘personally’ thanks to the innovative ‘Larnaka Storytelling Statues’ initiative.

Scanning the QR code with a mobile device, visitors can select from English or Greek, and the statue then ‘calls’ them and narrates their story.

Dotted around the town centre and the main seafront promenade, the seven statues are: Zeno of Kition (three different statues of the founder of the Stoic school of Philosophy – born 334BC); the bust of General Kimon (who defeated his enemies even in death in the 5th century BC); Apollonios Kitieas (a physician of the Empiric school of thought); artist Michael Kashalos (a self-taught painter who began his career in his 70s), and the Winged Lion of Venice, a gift from Venice to mark the twinning of the two cities.

Created by the LTB and supported by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Larnaka Municipality and the Youth Board of Cyprus, Larnaka’s ‘Storytelling Statues’ will be the first on the island to talk! This initiative is to be introduced by the end of August 2020. 

Pandemics of the Past

The Kyriazis Medical Museum is a fascinating time capsule of ancient medicine, including exhibits from pandemics of the past! 

The Kyriazis family practised medicine for many generations, including Dr Marios Kyriazis, who collected artefacts from his own family collection as well as donations from other medics in order to create Larnaka’s non-profit museum; an archive of the island’s medical history. 

Included in the epidemic exhibits at the museum are the outfits worn by medical staff. Whilst the scrubs are not dissimilar to those that our medical professionals wear today, the masks were very different, with the ancient ones designed to ‘scare’ the virus away and make the doctor look more authoritative. 

A Window to Worlds

With all events cancelled for spring, and citizens asked to remain at home, Larnaka Municipality has been bringing the arts to residents and friends of Larnaka region with entertaining videos.

With the hashtag #Ménoumespíti (‘we stay at home’), Larnaka Municipality is posting regular, short videos of performances and entertainment on its Facebook page under the ‘Cultural Window’ banner.

The ‘Cultural Window’ videos all appear in a charming blue shuttered window animation – much like the windows you can see on houses in the neighbourhoods of Larnaka old town! These windows act as a glimpse inside the world of culture and arts, and clips include choral performances, musical performances from members of the Larnaka Philharmonic Wind Band.

In addition to the cultural videos, the Municipality also posts videos from its ‘Open School’ evening classes. These videos are interactive and offer viewers something to enjoy whilst learning.

Made at home by tutors, the videos offer a fantastic opportunity for everyone to benefit from these lessons. Videos cover instruction on Cyprus herbs, Pilates and exercise routines, cooking demonstrations, crafts and dance lessons.

Made with Love & Tradition!

Spending more time at home has seen a surge in cooking and baking from scratch as many people try their hand at new recipes. One group of women for whom this has always been a daily passion is the Larnaka Rural Women’s Association, who continue to produce their homemade, traditional delicacies.

Erimi Traditional Sweets in mountainous Vavatisinia have shared their simple recipe for traditional strawberry jam; Tsimpi-Τσίμπι in Skarinou teaches the step-by-step method for ‘Kaloirka’ (handmade village pasta filled with meat), and ‘To Madratzi tis Yiayias’ (Granny’s shop) in Kato Drys introduces an unusual biscuit with terebinth berries called ‘Tremithopites’. The recipes can be accessed here.

For further information on Larnaka, visit www.larnakaregion.com

Travel

Greek tourism prepares for future

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The Aldemar Olympian Village in the West Peloponnese in Greece

Aldemar Resorts 2020, the year that has yet to begin for the tourism industry in Greece 

Greek Minister of Tourism, Harry Theoharis has been considering ways of salvaging the sector with his EU counterparts in this era of Covid-19. As the threat of the pandemic recedes, considerations for measures that will encompass health and safety for travellers are as important as lockdown was to combat the initial threat that Greece faced two months ago.

Aldemar Resorts (www.aldemar-resorts.gr) Vice-President Alexandros Angelopoulos and his management team are following the developments closely as they consider Aldemar Resorts’ own strategy.

Looking Forward

Aldemar Resorts stayed in touch on a regular basis with their UK tour operator partners, sharing information and ideas on the way forward. 

Alexandros Angelopoulos commented “Greece is universally recognized as a country that has tackled the Covid 19 crisis in an efficient and balanced way.  Not only have we contained the virus from spreading faster than anyone else, but also applied measures to avoid further contagion, such that we are recognized as one of the safest destination in Europe. This, in itself, is the basis of our strategy to getting back to being the safe and attractive destination that we have a reputation for being.  It will take time and we expect people to be tested before they board planes and from our part will be applying very strict health and safety protocols for staff and guests.”

Considerations

Aldemar Resorts are considering four key areas:

Hygiene; we are involving expert partners in the field to achieve ‘hospital standard’. 

Staff; all personnel will be tested before they can rejoin the hotel’s workforce. 

Heating and air-conditioning; as a precaution the engineering and maintenance departments have been working on disinfecting all areas of the resort hotels and introduced new protocols for heating and air-conditioning of all areas hygienically.  

Food and beverage; here the big buffet with multiple choices despite its high standards and quality will be replaced by a la carte service. 

“In Crete and Western Greece where our six hotels are located, the incidents of infection are none since the beginning of April” adds Alexandros Angelopoulos.

“Although it is still too early to say whether we can expect an extension of the season given the late start, following on from the directives of the state and our tour operator partners, we will consider extending our operation past the month of October.  Of course, this is not only up to us, but relies on global efforts to contain the virus and develop accurate measures for the protection of all people” concludes Alexandros Angelopoulos

Aldemar Resorts is one of the leading hotel chains in Greece with a total capacity of 3,738 beds and 1,200 employees.  

The group has six deluxe hotels, four in Crete and two in the Western Greece, as well as two world class Thalasso Spa Centres, one in Crete at the Royal Mare Hotel and the other on the mainland in Western Greece at the Royal Olympian. 

The Aldemar Group has 33 years in the tourism market and is recognised as being one of the most dynamic businesses of the Greek hospitality industry. Its success is due to continuously investing in innovative products and ideas and by demonstrating a high level of responsibility toward people, society and the natural environment.  With this attitude it hopes to respond positively to the challenge of restarting the sector, a major component of the Greek Economy. In Greece, tourism accounts for 20% of GDP and provides one in five jobs. In 2019, Greece attracted a record 33 million arrivals, more than three times its total population, and double the number it attracted a decade ago.

For further information visit www.aldemar-resorts.gr

http://www.visitgreece.gr