Best New Year travel strategies

For instance, the report shows that 2007 travelers saved up to 68 percent by traveling to Athens, Greece in January, compared to the peak travel month. Though not the ideal time to hit the Mediterranean beaches, winter visitors will find the lesser-known mountain ranges outside Athens are perfect for a ski trip, often compared to the Swiss Alps.

Ready to keep that New Years Resolution? A few suggestions for when to travel to some of the world's most coveted destinations, and why you should go in 2008:

Initiatives to upgrade greece tourism

Greece's campaign abroad includes promotion in well-known international media (CNN, BBC World), while cooperation will begin with Travel Channel, Euronews, Eurosport, major news sites, prestige magazines, etc. He stressed that what is also of great importance is the agreement signed with Euroleague for the next four months during the European basketball championship matches. In the sector of investments, the total absorption of funds from the 3rd Community Support Framework (CSF) amounted to 86.6 percent in 2007.

Exploring the Cyclades

From the port of Piraeus it was a five-hour ferry ride south-east to Paros island, in the Cyclades group, which was to become my home base for the next month. Not being the type of person to rush around taking photos of all the major landmarks and claiming that I had seen a place, I chose rather to do things slightly differently and really see Greece, from what would hopefully be a local’s perspective. My plan was to settle down in one town for most of my stay, then mix in a bit of island hopping at the end to give me the tourist’s perspective of Greece.

Get The Best Value Summer Holiday

But for those wishing to stay closer to home, Spain, France, Greece and Italy have always been popular. And another two countries in our top ten favourite destinations, namely Malta and Cyprus have just become the thirteenth and fourteenth members of the eurozone, which should of course make buying foreign currency a little less complicated.

However, this may turn out to be a double edged sword, as while costs in Malta in particular are currently typically lower than in other eurozone countries, we may find that, like other countries joining before it, prices may be about to rise.

Athenaeum InterContinental Athens wins top industry award

The Athenaeum InterContinental Athens has been awarded Greece’s Leading Business Hotel for 2007 at the 14th World Travel Awards, in London. The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate the enormous achievements to be found in all sectors of the global travel industry. In the years since, dedicated travel professionals and their clients have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the best endorsement that any travel product could receive.

Travel agents in more than 200 countries around the world cast the votes. Hundreds and thousands of votes each year are registered online at the official World Travel Awards website, with most of the leading travel Internet sites offering additional online voting facilities.

Forecast for Europe airfares in 2008

If you're planning a trip to Europe this year, you're probably wondering when you should book. Every month, we receive reader questions asking how far in advance is too far, if last-minute fares are likely to be available, and which destinations are cheapest.

Book as far in advance as possible if you'll be traveling in summer, advises Erin Krause, a spokeswoman for Expedia. "Prices ... continually increase as the summer months approach," Krause says. If you're traveling in late fall, early spring, or winter, however, the booking window can be shorter as there isn't quite as much competition for fares.