Insurance

The Greek STEEP team are all now covered with ‘Premium’ insurance for the trip.

Each of you (all those who did not already have cover) have to read and sign your declarations before the trip. These are at RRC and I will give them to you all at our prep meeting before the exchange. If any of you wish to have these sooner to read at your leisure then they will be available at RRC.

UK Partner Interests

Jan,
I did not know about these trips however can you look
at waste recycling - how do they handle the mountain
of waste tourism seems to generate.
How does loss of labour from agriculture to better
paid tourism jobs put pressure on the local labour
market. How does the local labour market cope with the seasonality of tourism - are the tourism operators farmers taking a cash crop in summer and going back to the land in winter.
Perhaps we can add your report to our website: http://www.farmtourism-matters.org/overseas.htm
Have an interesting trip,
Carl

UK Partner Interests

Hi Jan. I’d be interested to know how the Greek authorities are:

Planning for tourism (do they have any kind of strategy, for example to develop certain islands for particular activities - nature tourism, water sports etc - and how does it work in practice?)
Planning for climate change (and especially measures for water conservation)
Promoting the ‘sustainable tourism’ message to European tourists (presumably their biggest market?)

I’ll be keen to know how it goes. I have very happy, hippie and hazy memories of island hopping….!!

Helen Houghton
Recreation and Tourism Adviser
Lake District National Park Authority

Book Review from Dave Kennedy

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE, BOOSTING PROFITS
A guide to best practice in the tourism, hospitality and leisure industry.
J. Logie and M. Quest 2004
Published by the Best Practice Forum

This is the distilation of virtually every management training course I’ve ever been on, trying to convince mangers and directors that they should listen to their staff and involve them in the decision making process, no arguments there it is definitely a good idea, but it never seems to happen in practice.

It has some facts but mainly quotes from un-named sources (things like Hotel Receptionist, Devon) which worries me, with the notable exception of quotes from Claridge’s, London.It covers what it calls the nine steps to boost productivity, which areLeading from the front, Communicating internally, Communicating externally, Setting standards, Retraining staff, Adding value, Planning and controlling the business, Measuring and evaluating performance, and Networking – and entering into partnerships.

It does point people towards the Tourist Board for getting help and advice, and to various professional trade organisations, which you would have thought was obvious, but if they have put it in a book I guess it isn’t.The section on adding value, makes a case for standing out from the crowd, and creating unique selling points, that would then have the potential to increase customer spend, playing the eco card has been done to achieve this before with hotels and resorts, some I’ve been to have been excellent, however I feel you would need see the evidence of it being really eco-friendly, rather than it being a profit bandwagon.

Most of this is common sense, and it is short on real evidence based data, but it makes sense and would be useful to most industries not just hospitality etc.

David Kennedy

Latest information on clothing, weather, etc

The weather in late April should be around 20 degrees celsius in the day, though it will be cold at night. - We have log fires at home, so bring some warm clothes (jumpers, fleeces, jackets etc) if you are going to be out at night, eating dinner outside, etc. It may also be a bit rainy still, so a waterproof jackets, umbrella and decent shoes would be an idea. Otherwise, bring swimming gear, beach towel, sunhat, suncream etc, clothes that will suit 'spring-like' conditions. I normally get away with jeans/light trousers, and keep a warm top handy just in case.

Mossies should not be too much of a problem, but if people are particularly prone, bring some citronella/anti-mossie lotion to be on the safe side.

The accommodation will be comfy and clean, and everyone will have their own space. The aircon system should also have a heat-generating facility in case anyone gets a bit chilly at night, though there will be lots of extra blankets available.

Our address to send any post (leaflets etc) to us in Greece before the seminar is:

Madeleine Doggett & Yannis Vardakastanis
Post Restante Zakynthos
29100
Zakynthos
GREECE

It should take 7-10 days to reach us, and I will acknowledge receipt.

I will endeavour to hurry up with the itinerary, and have taken into account Cumbria group discussion/write up time, so have left quite a few afternoons free for this. If the weather changes the itinerary, e.g. for the cat trip or the island tour, it will mean that we have flexibility to change the programme around. We would be really interested to hear presentations from your team, and I am sure that people in Zakynthos will value your input as well. Particularly the Marine Park.

I think that is all for now, if you need anything else, please let me know.

Website of interest

Website of interest... http://www.zanteguru.com/intro/intro.html

Flights and Accommodation Booked

I have organised the accommodation and worked out prices.

We are staying together in 4x 1 bedroom apartments and 1x villa with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a large kitchen/dinner.

The accommodation cost includes breakfast, airport transfers, maid service, bed linen and towels, and welcome refreshments on arrival.

We have also organised the catamaran, and a people carrier for two days when we are mobile.

Maddy's Greek mobile is 0030 697 993 4746. If we are delayed we should call her. She will meet us at the airport on 24th April and take us down to Gerakas. Because we are arriving late, they will try and make sure that there is a taverna open so we can all eat, but we can have a proper welcome meal on 25th April when we are less travel weary.

Maddy is working on the itinerary and will send it to us early April.

Book review - Jan Darrall

Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean Islands and Small Cities – Fsadri and Selwyn, 1996

Not until the coastal regions experiences mass tourism in the 60s that concern about the environmental consequences of tourism began. In the early days of tourism, it was assumed that the main problems of tourism would be the relationship between the hosts and the tourists. Now, it is seen that the relationship between tourism, economies, societies, and the natural env is more multi complex and multi dimensional.

The paradox is that tourism lives off cultures and the env, but more often that not takes little/no account of the residents, e.g. increasing frustration in Malta and some Greek islands that tourism is intrusive and imposed on them. Clear that the management of tourism needs to be integrated with other aspects of the local economy and social structures in a way that the needs of locals are served above others, including tourism. If this isn’t done, the natural and built env becomes a museum for tourists only.

Mallorca – argue that increasing tourism has led to the loss of their autonomy – increase in the price of goods and increasingly dependent on outsiders. But it has decreased disparities of wealth, and there has been immigration not emigration. Same in Malta.

There are pros and cons to tourism, but the challenge is to build on the positive and not reproduce the negative.

Paradox – increasing interest in historical tourism, replacing sun, sea and sand holidays of the 60s, but locals see this as backward and move out. Industry, new houses, and developments are not seen to fit with the historic env, so people are forced out to other places and ghosts towns occur. There must be investment and social interaction in historic cities or historical based tourism will fail.

Tourism could provide for the economic viability of rural economies and societies, but to integrate economic and social policies and the rural hinterland, there is a need for co-operation and holistic policies, and this is increasingly hard with the increasing free market policies across the EU.

The value of tourism has to be not in its capacity to replace traditional local economic activity, but to complement it and create opportunities for locals without destroying what attracts people in the first place. Tourism can provide new employment but there is a danger in over reliance and developing a ‘mono crop’, and there is a need to diversify employment – this was the problem in Kos, and they are now trying to solve this by planning and intervention – to do this there needs to be a long term vision of the future and its relationship to the past.

At the end of the 1990s there was a shift in tourism in the Med and population dispersal. There will still be mass tourism, but there is an increasing amount of tourism linked to culture and the nature of the region’s historic and island centres, e.g. Turkey, Malta. The challenge here is museumisation and the citizens becoming exhibits.

Need greater co-operation between destinations, so instead of being in competition with each other, they work to co-operate and develop similar goals, involve locals etc.

Mdina, Malta – given over to tourism and locals feel they have got nothing in return. The culture has been exploited, and residents have left due to decreasing quality of life. To try and help this situation, they have developed a leaflet for tourists on dos and don’ts, e.g. respect the culture, they are putting some tourism money back into the env, and local councils are trying to deal with the effects of tourism.

In Majorca, insular agricultural rural economy was based on inland areas, the coast was seen to be marginal. Tourism brought foreign workers and rapid dev on the coasts, moving the economic activitiy from inland to the coast. A once marginal area has therefore become the most valuable economic resource. The power of the rich has decreased and there have been changing social structures and liberalisation of behaviour.

Turkey – urban and vernacular heritage has been ignored and destroyed. Now they realise the historic towns are a marketable commodity for tourism – there are conservation schemes, e.g. in Izmir, Ankara. The locals are moving out. Where the locals do remain, the buildings are in poor structure, but there is a sense of community. There is a need to balance tourism and local needs, too many tourist shops leads to increased prices which marginalises the locals and drives tourists away. The same dept needs to be in charge of tourism and conservation and also to meet the needs of locals.

Greece – Dimitsana – local plan – co-ordinates tourism development and links the public and private sector – have resotred a monastery, open air water power museum. To meet the needs of locals they have set up a welfare fund of farmstead land to be cultivated, and the income from it goes into road schemes, buildings, lighting. They have used LEADER to fund agrotourism and conserve trad buildings, est community enterprises, education and training in trad crafts. They recommend :-
- small scale tourism residential buildings, avoid mass building of the 60s
- identify local resources – buildings, skills
- to prevent abandonment of trad buildings, identify profitable uses that fit in with the env
- promote the educational aspects of trad buildings
- co-operation of local authority planners and the private sector

website of interest

A useful website for the exchange - http://www.greeka.com/ionian/zakynthos/zakynthos-map.htm

Flights confirmed

The flights have been booked, we went for different ones in the end, which means we will have to juggle with the itinerary and will have slightly less time in Zakynthos, but it is for the best. We have also had to spend more on the flights than is normally allowed but we have got Leonardo to approve this.

With Swiss and Olympic airlines:-

OUTBOUND
Monday 24 April

Depart Arrive

08:40 Manchester 11:50 Zurich
12:55 Zurich 16:35 Athens
19:45 Athens 20:45 Zakynthos


INBOUND
Sunday 30 April

Depart Arrive

07:15 Zakynthos 08:10 Athens
14:20 Athens 16:05 Zurich
17:05 Zurich 18:10 Manchester

The total cost of flights is £430pp which translates to 595€ at today’s exchange rate of 1.39.

Flights

Dave Kennedy has suggested some alternative flights that might make our lives easier, and we will suggest these to the travel agent. I have also learnt that Leonardo funds travel only in the sense of paying for the flights from the UK and transfers in the host country, so we may need to be creative in how we get around the island.

Flights

There is no such thing as easy in this life.

The travel arrangements look like this (the flights will be held like this until Monday when I am back in the office, then we will have to book them).

April 24 - Flight from Manchester 22.35 departure
April 25 - Arrive Athens 04.25
April 25 - Departure from Athens 05.55
April 25 - Arrive Zakynthos 06.50

So we lose a night's sleep, but the return is the problem!

April 30th - Depart Zakynthos 21.10
April 30th - Arrive Athens 22.05
One day stopover in Athens
May 1st - Depart Athens 19.40
May 1st - Arrive Manchester 21.45

Unfortunately I may have to agree this as the best of a bad job, we could spend the time in Athens siightseeing and debriefing! The other option is to travel from Zakynthos early on the 1st by bus on the return leg to get to Athens for the flight at night. A miserable choice between a day on a bus or a day in the wrong location.

If anyone has a major problem with agreeing the above let me know by Monday, or I will sign us up for the day stopover in Athens.

Booking flights

The travel agent has been instructed to book the flights after everyone except Mark Atherton confirmed the would be involved in the exchange. I will confirm in the next few days the flight details and whether we find a solution to the issues.

Tourism info from Keri

Hi James

I am having trouble with accessing the blog website but for everyone's information the main Greek Tourist Board website is www.gnto.gr and you can find out about Greek tourism statistics on www.statistics.gr (there is a link from the main website), click into Statistical Data, Trades and Services and then Tourism. I will search for more information and let you know if I find any. Katie Read will bring to your Poland meeting on Wednesday CTB publications to be sent to Greece.

Kind regards
Keri

Latest news from Zakynthos after issues raised at meeting

Hi James

Thanks for your email. Coming on 24th April is no problem, I can reserve the accommodation that I mentioned in the first email and the prices will still stand.

We are going to have to work hard to organise a decent travel arrangements. I was thinking that instead of getting the bus and having to rush massively from the airport, it might be better to pre-book a people carrier to Zakynthos and drive over, which you can then arrange to be picked up from Gerakas. I can try and find out which car hire companies at Athens airport will allow cars to be taken to the island and then pick them up, and also prices. Or you might wish to keep the vehicle for the week to give you flexibility when we go visiting different areas of the island etc. It is up to you (our budget may not stretch to this).

Alternatively you could try and get interconnecting flights from Athens to Zakynthos on Olympic Airlines (though you might have to stay over night in Athens at a hotel near the airport) depending on the time of arrival to Athens and departure to Zakynthos.

You can bring a UK laptop with you, and all you need to bring is an adapter plus (standard EU prongs) and also an anti-surge device as sometimes there are power surges/cuts in Greece and this device protects electronic equipment.

We can incorporate a visit to a mountain village during your stay, so you will see a variety of habits and communities, (though April is not yet the tourist season so you won't necessarily see how these isolated villages take advantage of passing tourist trade, though obviously we can explain this). We thought a visit to Volimes, one of very few villages left in Zakynthos untouched by the devastating earthquake of 1953, which is a really traditional farming community, would be interesting. We could also visit Keri Lake, which is a wetland marais (salt and fresh water mix) full of fish, terrapins etc, and which also has lots of tar underneath (there were attemts to drill it out, but these failed) but which is also under threat from tourism, pollution and building. We can also visit other places in the north and east of the island, so you get a rounded view of Zakynthos. Yannis and I will sit down and really put our thinking caps on on areas to visit.

As part of the meeting currently scheduled on day 6, We will encourage people outside green issues to take part, such as farmers (most people farm) and business people (small and medium scale) operating in different area of business.

Greek food is great for vegetarians and there are plenty of veggie dishes on the menu. Also the local mini-markets and supermarkets and especially places in town, stock plenty of food suitable, nuts, beans, pulses, tons of fruit and veg, pasta, rice etc, so your colleagues do not need to worry.

I will check up about diving in Zakynthos. There are plenty of good dive sites, and I will need to see if the dive companies will be open in April so he can go off for the day and prices.

Local produce from Zakynthos includes raisins, olive oil and wine, pottery and honey. There are quite a few vineyards which tourists can visit, taste the wine and buy their own (we could even incorporate one of these on our day around the island!) Pottery is also popular and there is a pottery studio near Gerakas, so if Hanne Mi is open in April we could pop in. - We will try and encourage her to get involved in the seminars too.
I don't think there is a particular initiative to raise awareness of Zakynthian produce and identity for tourists, and there should be, so this is definitely an area that you can work on.

I think that is all for now, let me know if I have missed anything or if you have any further questions.

Best wishes and speak soon
Maddy

Actions from Team Meeting March 9 2006

Attendees:

James Rebanks
Kelly Allison
David Kennedy
Jan Darrall
Keri Smith
Sarah Caley
Iris Glimmerveen

Apologies:
Mark Atherton

The date for the exchange will not be changed from week starting 24th April, even if travel is more difficult we will still travel at this time.

The team asked me to ask the Greek partners if we could add the following matters to the itinerary;

Visit the mountain villages if possible, to see the problems associated with these areas and their communities.

Ask about whether vegetarian food is available.

Whether it would be possible for a member of the team to dive on the underwater trail.

Looking at the link between local products and the links to the tourism industry to create a sense of place.

Some contact with people from the rest of the island, perhaps farmers or less sympathetic members of the community and some discussion about how these people can be brought on board to more sustainable practices.

Check that they will supply a laptop for presentations to avoid voltage issues.

ACTIONS

1. Dave to do research on the airports and feedback asap.
2. Kelly and James to arrange travel (Alba Travel for buses)
4. Keri to do research on tourism contacts for Greece and data on industry
7. James to buy 20 books which are the most interesting then Kelly send a couple to everyone
8. All to send material for information packs to Kelly regarding their organisation asap
9. All to send an email to James with a review of the books they have read by date of departure, if possible.
11. Dave to see if he can get a video and camera for the trip
12. Keri to bring a Cumbrian video on the Greece exchange (part of the gifts?)
14. Dave to make contact with WWF on what’s happening on the island
15. Jan to see whether some of the places mentioned by Maddy are on the north of the island
16. Everyone to send £20.00 to Sarah with suggestions for the gifts, asap. Sarah to find out what can legally be taken on aeroplanes
18. All to keep a record of the time spent on preparation
19. Kelly to send an email for presentations if not all sent in a week before the trip
20. Kelly to organise mini bus to the airport (Alba Travel)
21. All to write a report after the trip
22. Allocate one person to put together a master report (James?)
23. All to present a presentation to their organisation on what they learnt while on the trip
24. One person from the group to speak at T&C Partnership’s event
25. Report to go on Blog
26. Everyone on this exchange to think about the methods of spreading the information.

New Information from Dave

GreeceDespite EU condemnation, tourist "free for all" destroys unique turtle habitat on Greek island Gland, Switzerland –

Thousands of summer tourists, illegal sunbeds, umbrellas, bars and boats have once again invaded and irreparably damaged Greece’s National Marine Park of Zakynthos, pushing the Mediterranean’s largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles towards extinction, WWF said today.

In 2002, The European Court of Justice declared that Greece was in violation of European Union law because it had failed to protect the loggerhead turtles in Zakynthos, a legally protected marine park. The European Commission is soon expected to announce that it will refer the case to the Court for a second time.

According to WWF, Greek authorities have done little to halt the flagrant abuse within the park in 2005. Reports show that local businessmen installed hundreds of umbrellas and sunbeds above the authorised limit on the beaches. Illegal bars, taverns and parking areas were still in operation, while boats regularly crossed or anchored in prohibited zones. Cars, motorcycles and horses routinely rolled across the sand dunes. The lack of proper controls, financial support and law enforcement also allowed tourists to tamper with nesting sea turtles at night.

"The situation in Zakynthos is totally unacceptable, violations within the protected area happen every day," said Demetres Karavellas, WWF-Greece's Chief Executive Officer. "The Environment Ministry has not effectively responded to repeated calls for urgent action to halt the destruction of one of the most important sea turtle nesting habitats in the Mediterranean."

WWF urges the Greek government to demolish illegal buildings, restore the coastal area, and provide the National Marine Park of Zakynthos with the financial support needed to operate efficiently. The global conservation organization also calls on the EU Commission to define specific requirements and clear standards, which the Greek authorities will have to meet in order to avoid a second conviction at the European Court of Justice and a financial penalty.

WWF wants the EU to urgently enforce European laws protecting endangered species such a loggerhead turtles, and today, in Vienna, presented European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas with a report on this year's degradations in Zakynthos. "The EU Habitats Directive is being clearly undermined through cases such as Zakynthos," added Demetres Karavellas. "The role of the European Commission is critical in bringing about change and saving these unique nesting beaches. We hope they won’t let us down."

The National Marine Park of Zakynthos normally hosts between 800 and 1,100 nests from the end of May to the end of July. The peak of the tourist season coincides with the start of the hatching of the turtle eggs in August. Marine turtles are very sensitive to human disturbances. For example, lights distract the nesting females and disorientate the hatchlings as they make their way to the sea. Trampling of nests by tourists is also frequent. These impacts exacerbate the natural risks to hatchlings, and it is estimated that out of about 1,000 turtles that hatch, only one will reach adulthood.

NOTES: 1. The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is one of the two marine turtle species that reproduce in the Mediterranean. The other species is the green turtle, which nests in Turkey and Cyprus. 2. The National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ) was established in 1999 for the conservation of marine turtles and the sustainable development of the island. WWF-Greece and the NGO Archelon are represented on the management body of the NMPZ. 3. Zakynthos is a popular tourist destination for UK and German tourists in particular. For further information: Theodora Nantsou, Conservation ManagerWWF-Greece, Tel: +30 697 707 53 45 Marita Panteri, Communications OfficerWWF-Greece Tel: +30 210 331 48 93

Suggested Itinerary for exchange

Ideas suggested by Maddy our organising host;

As I said, we can arrange breakfast for all your colleagues as part of the accommodation price, but the acccommodation is self-catering, so you will need to budget for meals. There is a mini market just around the corner at Gerakas which is fully stocked with just about anything you could ever want, and there are also 3 tavernas within very easy walking distance for lunch and dinner. They are very reasonably priced and offer tasty traditional Greek food.

We will ensure that the Info Centre is open and functioning for when you arrive, and we will use the large office area as a conference room for presentations. We have a slide projector and the facility to play DVDs/videos.

We have some guests arriving on the same flight (assuming the UK team agree this date) as you from Doncaster on 1st May, and also another couple coming on 2nd May, but that is in the evening so won't be a problem. We then don't have any further arrivals until 7th May, so we are all yours.

Having thought about it, your flight home will probably be on Monday 8th, as you are coming for a week.

Below is a rough itineray for the week, please let me know what you think.

**We would probably start at about 10am-10.30am most mornings, as we are in Greece, after all!
**Afternoons in Greece mean after 5pm.

Day 1: We will meet you all at the airport and bring you down to Gerakas in taxis. Chilling out and finding feet post-flight sounds good, as does dinner that evening. We could eat at one of the local tavernas. Time of dinner, probably around 8pm. It's chilly in the evenings in May so bring a fleece or light jacket.

Day 2 morning: 10am start? We will give presentations in the office about what ESS does, its history - why it was formed, its aims at the time, achievements, and current/future projects. Also challenges that are being faced, attitudes of people in Zakynthos etc. We can also talk about Ionian Eco Villagers and Nature World Travel (eco-tourism excursions). We will also tell you about the other organisations that we have links with, such as Archelon, the Marine Park, Medasset, WWF and their roles in Zakynthos.

Day 2 afternoon: After lunch and siesta, 5pm, we could have a quick tour of the village, show you around our properties and show you what we are trying to achieve with the property owners in terms of being more environmentally friendly. Then you could just enjoy the area, relax, take the self-guided walk around Gerakas and explore a bit.

Day 3 morning: 10am, We could hire a minibus and take you to see Argassi, Kalamaki and Laganas. Bring your cameras and prepare for a shock to see the worst of tourism on the island, and also some illustrations of pollution, such as the rubbish dump and sewage treatment works above the main nesting beach. There is no official tourism agency in Zakynthos, so we would be your guides.

Day 3 afternoon: Cumbrian team to meet and discuss issues and tasks.

Day 4: 10.30am, We thought that if the weather permits, we could take either our eco-tourist catamaran trip or sailing cruise in the National Marine Park, so you can see the habitat of the turtles and seals and other wildlife, and maybe even spot some turtles. We need to confirm the price, but it should be around 40 Euros pp for the day. Bring your lunch. If the weather is bad we would have to rearrange the days, as this is a great trip and not to be missed!

Day 5 morning: 10.30am, We would try and organise a meeting with people from the NMPZ Archelon, WWF and Medasset. We would probably hold this at the centre.

Day 5 afternoon: Cumbrian team to meet and discuss.

Day 6 morning: 10am - 10.30, We will get some local business people to meet with you, such as local hotel owners, small scale property owners, general excursion companies (sailing, turtle spotting etc), as well as the specific people that we work with for our eco-excursions.

Day 6 afternoon: preparation for journey home and report writing. Farewell dinner.

Day 7 morning: taxi transfer to the airport around 11am from Gerakas.

Latest on the travel and dates

Though the timing remains an issue, you will see that we have an excellent partner!

Dear James

I have been checking flights to come 24th April for 7 nights, flying from London via Athens and then travelling on to Zakynthos. In terms of cost, the cost of tickets per person cost about the same (in some cases) as a direct flight from the UK to the island in May. But in terms of travel time and connections, it is a bit of a nightmare.

For example:
Travelling EasyJet from LGW, there is a flight to Athens on 24 April, leaving at 06.30am, currently priced at £75.28 pp. The return leg from Athens to LGW is currently showing at £105.23. (Grand total so far of £180.51). Then you have to add on the cost of either a bus journey from Athens to Zakynthos, which is @ 20 Euros pp each way including the ferry, or an internal Olympic Airways flight from 60 Euros pp each way. A total of @ £294, which is about the same as the price of a return ticket for 7 nights in May.

The bus journey from Athens takes 6.5 hours with a ferry crossing of 1.5 hours. The buses leave Athens every few hours- 6:00am, 8:00am, 12:45pm and 17:00pm, which don't match your arrival times at Athens airport, and you still have to get to the bus station either by taxi or a bus from the airport.

So it will probably easier to adjust the timing of your visit. As I said yesterday, we would be happy for all of you to come our @ 1st May. We have few people staying with us then (some come on 1st and 2nd May), but most guests don't start arriving until after you would have gone, so we would have time with you.

Accommodation would be almost the same as before, except 2 apartments are already booked for guests, so I can offer you the following:

Yannis-Marina 1
Yannis-Marina 2
Ilios Lower
Ourano Upper
Ourano Lower
all the above sleep 1 person

Homa Villa (2 separate bedrooms and bathrooms), so would sleep 2.

The cost per studio apartment for 1 person is : £250 for 7 nights. = £500 for 2 people in 2 apartments
The cost per one-bed apartment for 1 person is : £290 for 7 nights. = £870 for 3 people in 3 apartments
The cost for the villa for 2 people for 7 nights is: £ 550

Grand total:£ 1,920. I've had to increase prices slightly because the visit would be in May and not April, so I hope that's okay.
We also have a bit of flexibility in terms of arrival dates (2-3 days), if you couldn't get a flight until say, 3rd May, we can move your accommodation forward without clashing with other bookings.

I have also checked flights on Flightline for 1st May to give you an indication of costs. There is a flight from London Gatwick at £273 pp return, with all taxes and security levies. If you didn't want to travel all the way Down South, there is also a flight from Doncaster on 1st May, at £301pp, all in, departing at 07.20 and arriving Zak at 12.50.

I hope this helps!!

Best wishes
Maddy

Summary of the funding for this exchange

The project officially started on March 1 2006, so we are now eligible to claim costs, and will record them from now on. For our 30 participants on the six exchanges we have the following budget per person;

Management fee for UK work; £60
Cultural and linguistic preparation; £23 for books and materials, £15 for specialist advice
Transport; £300
Insurance; £34
Subsistence; £102 per day

This gives you a total of £942 per person if we were actually in a host country for five working days.

The funding is a 75% intervention rate, the other 25% is our contribution which is the management time I and others are putting in, our preparatory time contributed by our own organisations, and our expenses of getting to the airport and back home in the UK. Depending upon the exchange team members may have to pay some additional small costs themselves.

New information from Zakynthos

Hi James

No inconvenience at all, maybe I should have mentioned about the flights, but didn't think, as you can still get to the island via the mainland. You could still come out on 24th April, if you fly direct to Athens (BA or EasyJet) and then take a plane (Olympic Airways) to Zakynthos, or hire a people carrier from the airport and drive (6 hours). It means a bit of a longer journey, but means dates don't have to change. It's up to you, I can look at flight times/prices etc, if you need me to.

We can do the first week in May if you wish, and in a way it might be better as it is after the crazy week of Greek Easter (everything shuts down), and also everything will definitely open then, including our Information Centre. The accommodation will change slightly as I already have some bookings in the first week, but I will have a look to rearrange things and let you know.

Please let me know what you would like to do as soon as you have had your meeting!!!

V.much looking forward to do, let's get it sorted!

Best wishes
Maddy

Houston we have a problem!

To my absolute horror I now learn that Zakynthos (Zante) is not connected to the rest of the world by charter flights until May 1, so our suggested dates are probably impossible. We may have to travel a week later, even though this may create problems for several of us.

New Information from Host

Here are costings for your group to stay at the Eco Village, Gerakas from 24 April - 1 May 2006 (7 nights).

I have reserved 3 studio apartments (Yannis-Marina) and 4 one-bed apartments (Ilios & Ourano) so each person has their own room and privacy. For further information you can visit our website http://www.relaxing-holidays.com/ and click on Accommodation.

This site has excellent links to the partner organisations and team members should do their research before the meeting.

The cost per studio apartment for 1 person is : £233 for 7 nights. = £699 for 3 people in 3 apartments
The cost per one-bed apartment for 1 person is : £275 for 7 nights. = £1,100 for 4 people in 4 apartments

Total cost: £1,799.

All costs include bed linen and towels, maid service and airport transfers. Please let me know if you would like breakfast, as we can arrange this. If you would like the accommodation, please let me know so I can formally book it and send you our payment details.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Maddy