In the wake of a near collapse in tourism this year, hotel industry leaders are calling for a focus on ­infra­structure and a new atmosphere of cooperation in a bid to reverse the decline.Revenues are down 35-40%, and, as many bookings were made before the pound fell against the euro, the industry...

Parents will be forced to put their hands deep into their ­pockets for school equipment. The bill could amount to €150-200 per child. This year basic foreign language books in some shops cost 5% more. Booksellers argue that other prices have remained stable. In addition, school bags are €15-50, depending...

Tourism is destroying the education of young Greeks, according to census figures. Statistics show that in areas dominated by the tourist industry, education drop-out figures are significantly higher. In tourist areas, one in five of people between 15 and 29 years old drop out of formal education...

Thousands of people thronged the streets of Zakynthos Town on Sunday for the ­festival of the island's patron saint, Dionysios. The remains of the saint were carried in a glass case by priests at the centre of the pageant, which included dozens of priests, marching bands, troops, young people's organisations...

Coast guard vessels from Zakynthos and Patras joined forces to intercept international cigarette smugglers off Kalamata. There was gunfire as the Panama-registered Svetlana was boarded and her Ukrainian crew arrested. On board there were more than 500,000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes, which...

The famous shipwreck, a symbol of Zakynthos, is in a serious state of decay and is fast becoming an eyesore. But despite its value to the island's tourist industry, and its trademark status, nobody will take responsibility for its maintenance and protection. The shipwreck beach, ranking as the world's...

The Port Authority has denied claims by the prefect, Dionysis Gasparos, that it charges cruise ships €25,000 to anchor off Zakynthos harbour.
Mr Gasparos made the allegation during a press conference at which he lamented the authority's failure to build a proper mooring for cruise ships. He said...

Ferry operators have asked permission to run extra services to and from Killini over the festival period.
Although passenger numbers are down generally, the operators believe there may be an influx this weekend for the feast of St. Dionysios.
As traffic climbs, the Port Authority pays greater attention to the harbour road, which frequently chokes as vehicles leave the ferry.
This week, the Ionian Islands region placed responsibility for maintaining the harbour road in the hands of the prefecture. This reverses an earlier decision that the Harbour Fund should be responsible.
Deputy prefect Sotiris Karakas said: “We told the Harbour Fund the road should be our responsibility, but we had document from the Ionian Islands which said the road is the responsibility of the Harbor Fund, because of the perceived land area of the port. Now the region has sent us another document saying the road will be maintained by us. Others do not have the money so we are taking this on.”
The prefect, Dionysis Gasparos, said plans to extend the harbour road would be acted on soon.
Meanwhile, the number of private yachts visiting the harbour, low in July compared with last year, has started to increase.

People crowded into the grounds of Vasilikos Primary School for the annual turtle celebration, organised by the National Marine Park and Vasilikos council. Twice as many people as last year attended, among them the Bishop of Zakynthos, Mr Chrysostomos, MP Dimitris Varvarigos, Zakynthos mayor...

A DVD designed to promote Zakynthos overseas is almost ready for distribution. Aimed at potential tourists, the DVD has been commissioned by the island's Chamber of Commerce. It will be 45 minutes long and include images from throughout the island. The cost is €60,000. The chamber's tourism officer...

Just as the British Ambassador, Simon Gass, meets authorities in Zakynthos to discuss problems with British tourists, the media in the UK have placed a fresh focus on Laganas. Both the Sun newspaper and the BBC sent teams to the island to investigate allegations of binge drinking, violence and rape...

A 28-year-old Albanian woman was arrested in Zakynthos on Saturday evening for dealing drugs. Police are hailing the arrest as a major breakthrough, saying the woman may be part of a ring smuggling drugs from Albania, through Athens and then to a distribution network covering Greece...

Regional health chief Paul Kapsampelis says the island's new hospital in Gaitani will be ready by the end of June next year. “We see no reason not to meet the construction timetable,” he said. Work on the main building has been completed and industrial flooring is being installed. Mechanical and electrical...

Fire destroyed between 4,000 and 6,000 acres of agricultural and forest land in the Agalas area. The blaze broke out at noon on Friday, apparently at several sites near Kiliomenos, and was not brought under control until Sunday. The situation was considered particularly critical until the early hours...

Zakynthion mayor Dionysis Aktypis has criticised prefect Dionysis Gasparos for claiming the credit for the project to improve the city's roads.
Mr Aktypis said the work was the initiative of the city and not the prefecture. He blamed party politics for the false claims,and a desire to malign the city authorities...

On its first voyage to Zakynthos on Monday, the ferry Apollo brought 300 passengers from Italy. The ferry began its voyage the previous day from from the port of Brindisi and made a stop at Kefalonia. The second arrival was due yesterday.It is planned that there will be two voyages a week on Mondays...

Traders in Alykes have blamed poor infrastructure and failure to develop the derelict salt pans in Alykes for the slump in tourism in the region.
The chairman of the Alykes Association of Hoteliers, Yannis Latas, said central government should have been more active in developing the island. He predicted...

With work undertaken over recent years, Tsilivi is probably one of the better tourist resorts on the island, according to traders. Panagiotis Mamfredas, chairman of Arkadion's tourism committee, said that although tourist numbers and revenues were down, this couldnot be blamed on any failure by...

Plumbers leaders Nikos Georgitsopoulo and Andreas Kollaros have blamed lack of communication in local government for the island's water problems. They say there is no cooperation or consultation among local governments on water issues, leading to the conclusion that some do not want to...

Police raided two establishments in Laganas in the early hours of Saturday and arrested 21 people on a variety of charges related to illegal striptease and lapdancing. Officers in plain clothes first posed as customers before arresting the managers of the shops, staff and female dancers...

Kefalonians prefer to fly to the mainland while Zakynthians seem to favour the ferry link to Killini, according to airport data. However, Zakynthos enjoys much greater tourist traffic. Three times the number of tourists fly into this island's airport. Figures show that last year charter flights...

A doctor at the island's main hospital was arrested this week on charges of possessing child pornography. The doctor, a 33-year-old obstetrician, is alleged to have run a website featuring indecent images of children. Police arrested him at his home in Argasi where they also seized computers...

Arkadion's mayor, Stelios Boziki, met representatives of the tourist coach drivers' union to discuss the damage caused to vehicles by branches across roads. The drivers say there has been some improvements to roads around Tsilivi, but other areas continue to require work. Union chairman...

The family of a Swedish youth who died in Laganas three years ago have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Richard Narkunher, 19, pictured left, was found unconscious behind the Hotel Ionis in the early hours of July 6, 2005. He had such severe head injuries that he later died...

Police-recorded crime in England and Wales fell 9% in the 12 months to March, latest figures suggest. The first reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year. The figures also show that while the risk of being a victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think...

The director of obstetrics at Zakynthos hospital has denied claims in the British press that there is a high incidence of rape on the island.
Dimitri Michalopoulos said: “Many claims of rape to not stand up to ­scrutiny.” He said: “Every summer 20 to 25 incidents involving alleged rapes are brought...

Recently, the Court of our island adopted a decision on two applications for temporary injunctions, that had been deposited by the Bank of Piraeus, and were heard recently. The Court accepted the request for the interim injunction. According to the Bank, there are ongoing investigations...

It is an indisputable fact that we have a tourism crisis. Mr Costas Kapsaki, (the Secretary of the Association of bars and cafés), argues that the main cause is the Euro. He made comment, that May and June have already disappeared from the summer season, and that, basically, these days, businesses...

Regarding the operation of the hydroplane, which we have previously reported, the news is-It should be operating within a couple of months.
This, hopefully, means that by the end of August, we should see some routes in operation. The aim is to link our Island with Patras, and the other Ionian islands...

Specialists have been tackling the problems in the Harbour regarding pollution, and oil spillage. An exercise has been carried out, which involved a hypothetical scenario, to do with the pollution from a passing ship. This was held during this week, together with the Port of Zant,e and Fire Department...