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A large fire has broken out in the power plant on the island of Santorini which has led to a power cut in its whole area and on the neighbouring island of Thirassia. According to the Public Power Corporation, the fire has been extinguished and there have been attempts to gradually supply the area with electricity.

This year there is a record number of tourist visits to Santorini. According to Anasthasios Nikolaos Zorzos, mayor of the capital city Thira, the number of visitors to the island this summer will exceed the number of last year's visitors which was 1.7 million and will even surpass the number of visitors in 2011 which was 1.9 million. In 2012, 833 thousand tourists visited one of the most beautiful of the Cycladic islands by cruise ships, 483 thousand arrived by ferries from other ports, 167 thousand by domestic flights and 201 thousand by flights from abroad. The number of Chinese tourists who prefer Santorini not only in the summer but also in the winter has significantly increased too.

Despite the optimistic expectations, the tourist operators on the island are trying to develop different forms of thematic tourism which will allow them to attract high-quality visitors. That is why 2013 is the year of gastronomy on the island in order for it to be able to rank among the greatest gastronomic destinations in the world.

Last week Santorini was included in CNN’s ranking of the 12 superb sunset spots around the world, ranking the village of Oia along with the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA, Dubai, UAE and 9 other locations in Italy, China, Myanmar, Australia, Kenya. This is just one of the series of awards for one of the most beautiful Greek islands and undoubtedly one of the most attractive spots in the world.