ECONOMY

Season for cruise ship industry starts

The Louis Cristal cruise ship (pictured), operated by Louis Cruises, docked in Thessaloniki yesterday and remained there until the early evening. Its visit to Thessaloniki marks the start of the cruise industry season in the northern Greek city. Greece will be resting its hopes for a mild recession in tourism this year, as the country’s economy could contract by anywhere between 2 and 4 percent in 2010. Industry sources have said that there could be a small increase in the number of visitors likely to visit Greek shores in the summer, around 3 to 4 percent more than last year. However, discounts offered by Greek hotels along with difficult economic conditions in some source markets mean visitors will probably spend less money this year than they did in 2009.

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