Facing a crowded domestic market, Greek coffee brands are taking their cafés overseas, exporting the country’s signature espresso drinks—including the famed freddo iced coffee—and expanding their networks across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America

Greek coffee culture is known for its strong, aromatic espresso and the iconic freddo espresso, a chilled, frothy version served over ice. Once largely confined to Greece’s bustling streets and seaside cafés, this uniquely Greek coffee tradition is now finding fans abroad, as domestic chains look to international markets for growth.

Leading Greek brands including Coffee Island, Gregory’s, Coffee Berry, and Mikel are investing heavily in expansion, establishing outlets in countries with similar coffee-drinking habits and high growth potential. While still serving Greece, these chains are increasingly competing on the global stage, taking their café concepts to all five continents.

Why Greek Coffee Chains Are Going Global

The domestic Greek market has become saturated, with independent cafés and smaller local chains proliferating in recent years. Rising operational costs and consumers cutting back on discretionary spending have created additional pressures. Many Greeks are reducing how often they buy coffee outside the home or preparing it themselves, leaving chains to explore new markets to sustain growth.

Gregory’s Builds Its Presence in Cyprus and Europe

Gregory’s, one of Greece’s largest coffee chains, is expanding rapidly in Cyprus. Under CEO Vlasis Georgatos, it now operates 11 outlets in Nicosia and Larnaca, with four more scheduled to open in Paphos, Nicosia, and Larnaca by mid-2026.

The chain is also present in Romania and Germany, making it one of Europe’s top 15 coffee brands. In 2024, Gregory’s reported €55.7 million in revenue, a 4.5% increase over the previous year, investing in 24 new stores and renovating 66 existing locations.

Coffee Island’s Global Roasting and Café Network

Coffee Island, based in Patras, opened its first Paris store in Montmartre at the start of 2026. It also operates cafés in India and Egypt and has invested in a coffee roasting and processing facility in Egypt to supply its regional stores.

Founded by Vangelis Liolios and led by CEO Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos, Coffee Island currently runs 454 outlets and is recognized for combining traditional Greek coffee flavors with modern café experiences.

Coffee Berry Expands Across Europe and the Middle East

Founded in 2016, Coffee Berry now operates 129 stores in Greece, 83 in Cyprus, six in Egypt, and smaller outlets in Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Morocco.

The company, led by Harris Gryparis, is preparing to enter Kuwait, the United States, and Romania. Coffee Berry operates a processing facility in Koropi, Greece, producing up to 3,200 tonnes of coffee annually, with a second facility under development, reflecting over €10 million in investment. In 2023, the company reported €18.5 million in revenue, growing to an estimated €19.5 million in 2024.

Mikel Coffee: A Global Footprint

Mikel Coffee, founded in 2008 in Larissa, Greece, began international expansion in 2015 with a subsidiary in London. Today, it operates in the United States, the Balkans, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada, with more than 350 stores worldwide.

The chain adapts its cafés to local tastes while maintaining signature Greek-style coffee drinks. In 2024, Mikel reported net profits of €119,410, with further expansion planned through international commercial agreements.

Source: ot.gr

As solo travel continues to evolve from a niche trend into a mainstream way of exploring the world, Greece has secured a place among the top ten destinations for international travelers in 2026, according to a new report by FTLO Travel.

The ranking reflects not only where travelers want to go next, but also how solo travel is changing – with longer planning horizons, experience-led itineraries and a growing appetite for immersive destinations.

A modern boutique travel company catering to travelers aged 25-39, FTLO analyzed booking timelines and destination wish lists to offer an early snapshot of where solo travelers are setting their sights for the year ahead.

The findings suggest that many travelers are still in the inspiration phase, planning well in advance and prioritizing destinations that offer depth, culture and variety.

Greece ranked seventh on the list, surpassing destinations such as Thailand, Iceland, Peru and Switzerland, underscoring its growing appeal among independent travelers seeking a balance of history, landscape and authentic local experiences.

When it comes to bucket-list travel for 2026, two regions tied for first place: Australia/Oceania and Asia.

Europe followed closely in third place, with South America and Africa rounding out the top five.

According to FTLO Travel, the results highlight a strong interest in long-haul, once-in-a-lifetime journeys, alongside destinations that support slower, more meaningful travel.

This regional interest was also reflected in the most sought-after individual countries. Australia, Japan and New Zealand emerged as the top three destinations overall, followed by Argentina, Italy and South Korea.

What solo travelers are looking for

According to the report, solo travelers are increasingly prioritizing experiences over nightlife and party scenes. Nightlife ranked last, with just 13 percent of respondents citing it as a deciding factor when choosing a destination.

Asked about their primary travel motivations, nearly 74.6 percent said their goal was simply to “see the world”.

Adventure followed at 44 percent, while fun (40 percent) and connection (35.5 percent) also ranked highly. By contrast, personal growth (20.2 percent) and rest (15.1 percent) were less influential, suggesting that many solo travelers are seeking active, outward-facing experiences rather than purely reflective or wellness-focused trips.

When it comes to travel inspiration, friends and word of mouth topped the list at 65 percent, closely followed by Instagram at 63 percent. TikTok ranked third, but at a significantly lower level, with just 22 percent of respondents citing it as a primary source of inspiration – reinforcing the continued influence of personal recommendations and visual storytelling over short-form trends.

Source: news.gtp.gr

A fire on destroyed the community hall adjacent to the Holy Monastery of St Nectarios in Croydon Park, Adelaide, while the main church building and a neighbouring nursing home were saved following the swift response of emergency services.

The blaze broke out on Regency Road shortly after 7pm on Friday night, 24 January, with crews from the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) called to the scene as flames engulfed the hall and thick black smoke rose into the sky. Firefighters remained on site into the early hours amid concerns of possible reignition, as investigations into the cause of the fire continue.

The community hall sustained extensive damage, with its roof collapsing, glass doors shattered and debris scattered throughout the interior. Walls were blackened by soot, and the smell of burnt timber lingered across the site.

Parish Council President Vladimir Devrelos praised the efforts of emergency services, saying their actions were critical in protecting the church, which has stood for more than 50 years.

“I do my cross and thank God for the dedication shown by our emergency services,” Mr Devrelos said.
“They did a wonderful job. All of them are heroes, to say the least.
“The blessing for us is that the church itself is untouched and intact, and God willing, services will be able to proceed.”

The destroyed hall, established in 2017, played an important role in parish life, hosting community celebrations, cultural events and after-school Greek language classes. Its loss has been described as significant for the local Greek Orthodox community.

Also spared was St Basil’s Nursing Home, located beside the church and home to approximately 80 residents. No injuries were reported among residents, parishioners or emergency personnel.

MFS Commander Phil Ross said it took around five hours to fully extinguish the blaze, with 16 firefighters deployed at the scene. He said the fire spread rapidly after entering the roof space, making it difficult to contain.

In the aftermath, there was an outpouring of relief and support from the wider community. Many expressed gratitude that the church and nursing home were spared, while others sought clarification after early reports referred to an “administration building.” Parish representatives later confirmed that the structure destroyed was the community hall, not the church.

A public smoke warning was issued on Friday night before being lifted later in the evening. Authorities have confirmed the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Subject to electrical safety checks, regular church services are expected to proceed.

Source: The Greek Herald

On 9 and 10 February 2026, the Technopolis City of Athens will host the inaugural Athens Gastronomic Forum. This significant development for the local meetings sector marks the first international gastronomic conference to be held in Greece, positioning the city as a focal point for the global culinary community.

Initiated by the respected food critic Dimitris Antonopoulos, the forum is designed as a platform to redefine the industry’s scope, moving beyond culinary techniques to explore gastronomy as a form of cultural dialogue and social driver. The event aims to bridge the Greek culinary scene with the international community, fostering innovation and sustainability.

The programme features a distinguished lineup of world-renowned speakers, including Joan Roca, Rasmus Munk, and Albert Adrià, who will lead the conversation on the “Gastronomy of Tomorrow”. Attendees can expect a comprehensive agenda comprising interactive workshops, cooking demonstrations, and specialised masterclasses on topics ranging from coffee and wine tasting to future menu trends.

For professionals in the meeting and hospitality industries, the Athens Gastronomic Forum offers a vital opportunity for high-level networking and knowledge exchange. It seeks to strengthen the strategic synergy between agriculture, gastronomy, and high-value tourism, enhancing Athens’ competitive edge as a destination.

Source: athensgastronomicforum.com/en/

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today, Thursday 22 January, the nominations for the 98th Academy Awards, which will be presented on 15 March 2026.

Among this year’s standout contenders is Sinners, which dominates the race with an impressive 16 nominations across both major and technical categories. The film makes a strong showing in top awards such as Best Picture and Best Director, while also earning widespread recognition for its performances and craftsmanship.

Close behind comes One Battle After Another with 12 nominations, asserting its presence across all major fields — from Best Picture and Directing to leading and supporting acting categories — as well as key technical areas including editing, sound, score, adapted screenplay, cinematography and casting.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia registers a quietly powerful presence, securing four nominations in pivotal artistic categories. The film is nominated for Best Picture, while Emma Stone earns a nod for Best Actress, alongside nominations for Original Score and Adapted Screenplay — a compact but telling acknowledgment of the film’s artistic coherence.

The nominations were announced live from the historic Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles by actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman.

A New Category

This year marks the introduction of a new Oscar category for Best Casting, while the Academy has also confirmed the future addition of a Best Stunt Design award, set to debut at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028, honoring films released in 2027.

Source: en.protothema.gr

Greece’s tourism industry shattered records in 2025, welcoming nearly 37 million visitors and generating 23 billion euros ($24.4 billion) in revenue, according to Bank of Greece data.

The figures underscore the sector’s resilience as the primary engine of the Greek economy. Between January and November 2025, travel receipts jumped 8.9% compared to the same period in 2024, while arrivals increased by 4.6% to 36.7 million.

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni hailed the results as proof that the government’s strategy to extend the travel season is working.

November alone saw a striking 27.7% surge in revenue, signaling that Greece is successfully transitioning into a year-round destination.

“The data confirms that Greek tourism is not just growing in volume, but in quality and duration,” Mrs. Kefalogianni said.

Germany remained the top source market, sending 5.8 million travelers, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 4.8 million visitors.

High-spending markets also performed well, with revenue from the U.S. rising despite a stabilization in arrival numbers.

The boom comes as the government faces pressure to balance economic gains with sustainability.

While the 23 billion euro windfall provides fiscal stability heading into 2026, officials are increasingly focused on managing the strain on infrastructure and housing in popular hotspots like Santorini and Athens.

Full-year data is expected next month, but 2025 is already confirmed as the strongest year in the history of Greek tourism.

Sources: iefimerida.gr

Hermes Expo International recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with a luncheon held at the Athens Club.

For three-and-a-half decades, US-based Hermes Expo has consistently served as a bridge connecting Greek entrepreneurs with the American market. The event was not only a retrospective of Hermes Expo’s journey, but also a vivid presentation of its role as a permanent infrastructure for international outreach in Greece’s commercial sector.

During the event, the Founder and President of Hermes Expo International, Paul Kotrotsios, emphasized that Hermes Expo is not a conventional trade show, but rather a “launching platform” for access to the American market. He explained that it is a structured ecosystem that transforms Greek quality and production into commercial results, creates synergies and real partnerships and leverages the dynamic potential of the Greek Diaspora and philhellene American entrepreneurs.

Among the participants were the managing director of TIF–HELEXPO Dr Kyriakos Pozrikidis, the Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Greece Dr Marinos Giannopoulos, the President of the Ioannina Chamber of Commerce Spyros Bekas, representatives of chambers of commerce from many parts of Greece, as well as the President and other executives of the International Chamber of Commerce, Petros Doukas as well as many entrepreneurs.

Special reference was made to the differentiated business model of Hermes Expo, which focuses on targeted B2B meetings, needs mapping, and meaningful follow-up after the completion of the Expo. As emphasized, success is not measured in square meters of exhibition space, but in the quality of contacts and the continuity of collaborations.

The Executive Director of Hermes Expo and CEO of Hellenic News of America, Aphrodite Kotrotsios, spoke about the complementary operation of the two organizations as a single ecosystem of information, networking and activation of the Greek and Greek-American business community, with an emphasis on long-term credibility and consistency.

This year’s Hermes Expo will be held on April 29 and 30 at the Grand Marquis in Oldbridge, New Jersey, not far from New York City, just days after the Greek Independence Day parade in Manhattan. Hermes Expo 2026 will gather representatives of the Greece of quality, innovation and of fine goods and services with an America of scale, capital and global reach.

For Greek businesses, chambers of commerce, regions and institutional bodies seeking an organized and meaningful presence in the American market, Hermes Expo remains a stable tool for strategic positioning and international outreach with measurable results.

Present at the event were among others, Labor Minister, Niki Kerameus, and Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Haris Theocharis, and of Education, Kostas Vlasis.

Source: ekathimerini.com

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land announce the imminent commencement of restoration works in the Grotto of the Nativity, the hallowed site revered across Christendom as the place of the Incarnation. This joint undertaking together with the brotherly cooperation of the apostolic Arminian orthodox Patriarchate proceeds Under the auspices of the Presidency of the State of Palestine, in accordance with the Presidential Decree on the Restoration of the Grotto of the Church of the Nativity for the year 2024 and with the historical Status Quo governing the Holy Places.

The restoration shall be executed by the Italian firm entrusted with the recent rehabilitation of the Basilica of the Nativity, ensuring continuity in method, craftsmanship, and artistic sensitivity toward a site of unparalleled sacred symbolism. Preliminary preparations are complete and the works are now on the threshold of commencement. In addition to the works in the Grotto, the project includes technical reinforcement measures in adjacent sections reflecting both the architectural unity of the sanctuary and the cooperative spirit that preserves it for the entire world.

This project embodies a unified Christian commitment to preserve the spiritual, historical, and cultural patrimony of the Holy Grotto for future generations, and to uphold the dignity of a site where the Christian proclamation took visible form and where the faithful of every nation have gathered in pilgrimage throughout the centuries.

In the Grotto, the mystery of the Incarnation entered history and the Christian confession received its earthly beginning. To restore this holy place is to safeguard the continuity of faith, memory, and devotion in the land of the Nativity.

Through this collective effort, the Churches of Jerusalem protect the Gospel heritage entrusted to them and ensure that the faithful of all traditions may continue to venerate the birthplace of Christ with reverence. From Bethlehem, the light of the Nativity continues to illumine the world, bearing witness to the enduring Christian presence in the Holy Land and to the hope that radiates from the sacred cave where the Savior was born.

Source: Jerusalem Patriarchate

Greece continues to rank among the leading Mediterranean destinations for travel over the next 12 months, reinforcing the strong tourism brand it has built in recent years across major Western European markets and further improving its international image.

According to the latest findings, Greece places third among preferred outbound travel destinations in both Germany and Italy, fourth in France and the United Kingdom, and sixth in Spain. Compared with 2024, the country has gained one position in the UK and Spanish markets, a notable development given that the United Kingdom and Germany together represent Greece’s most important source markets for inbound tourism in terms of both visitor numbers and revenue. In the remaining markets examined, Greece’s ranking remained stable.

The data come from a study published in January 2026 by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) titled “Brand Greece: How attractive is Greece as a tourism destination? A comparison with competing Mediterranean destinations.” The research focuses on five key European markets—Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy—and is based on surveys conducted by GWI in two waves during 2025, involving 7,402 respondents, as well as comparable research carried out in 2024. The study examines travel intentions for the next 12 months, including the peak summer period that is critical for Mediterranean destinations.

Collectively, these five markets generate almost half of Greece’s inbound tourism revenue, based on official data from the Bank of Greece for 2023 and 2024.

Across all markets surveyed, Greece features within the top five destinations that Europeans are considering for international travel, ranking third or fourth in most cases.

Spain is the only market where Greece falls just outside the top five, in sixth position, although even there it has improved its standing compared with the previous year.

Importantly, in both the UK and Spanish markets, the difference in preference between Greece and the destination immediately above it is only around two percentage points, indicating strong competitive momentum.

In Germany, Italy and Spain lead the rankings, with Greece securing third place and attracting close to one in five German travelers considering trips abroad. In France, Spain and Italy again dominate, followed by Portugal, while Greece holds fourth place.

Among British travelers, Spain and Italy top the list, followed by France, with Greece close behind in fourth position. In Spain itself, Italy and France lead, with Portugal also ranking ahead of Greece, while in Italy, Spain and France take the top two positions and Greece ranks third.

The findings are particularly significant given Greece’s geographical position. Unlike Spain, France or Italy, which benefit from extensive cross-border road travel, Greece relies far more heavily on air connectivity. Despite this structural disadvantage, Greece continues to perform strongly in Western European markets, underscoring the strength and recognisability of its tourism offering. The study also notes that in the Italian and Spanish markets, other Mediterranean competitors such as Croatia and Turkey do not feature in the top ten preferred destinations.

Commenting on the results, INSETE General Director Elias Kikilias said that Greece’s tourism brand has now reached a mature phase within an increasingly competitive Mediterranean landscape dominated by Spain and Italy. He stressed that future success will depend on strengthening sustainability and resilience, safeguarding the identity of destinations, and further diversifying the tourism product through a long-term, coordinated strategy that aligns public and private sector efforts.

Source: dnews.gr

The government is planning to create a new electoral district allowing Greeks living abroad to directly elect three members of parliament with their own ballot, marking a change in how the diaspora is represented.

Under the proposal, expatriate Greeks would no longer be represented through parties’ nationwide state ballots. Those seats would be reduced from 15 to 12 to make room for the three diaspora lawmakers within the 300-seat parliament.

The reform is part of a legislative package that would also extend postal voting to national elections, following its use in European Parliament elections. The bill is expected to be submitted before Easter. To take effect in the next national vote, it would need the backing of at least 200 lawmakers; otherwise, it would apply from the following election cycle.

The government believes the postal voting model used in European elections was successful and should be expanded. Officials say the aim is to ensure that Greeks abroad feel more actively involved in the country’s political life.

The Interior Ministry, under Minister Thodoris Livanios, has been working on the legislation, which includes the creation of a single electoral district for the Greek diaspora. Under the plan, voters abroad would cast ballots on a common list featuring candidates from around the world and would be able to select not only a party but also an individual candidate.

A voter living in the US could choose a candidate based in Australia, Europe or Asia. Supporters say the change would replace the current system, in which parties were required to include at least one expatriate candidate on their state ballots.

The government considers the direct election of diaspora lawmakers a step that could mobilize overseas Greeks and strengthen ties with the homeland through direct parliamentary representation.

To implement the change, the number of state ballot seats would be reduced. Officials say cuts cannot come from regional districts without altering population representation.

Government sources argue opposition parties would struggle to justify rejecting the plan, which they say “strengthens” representation and “increases the ability to reinforce Greece’s relations with the outside world.” Critics warn smaller parties could be disproportionately affected in practice overall politically nationwide elections ahead soon.

Source: ekathimerini.com