THESSALONIKI – You won’t find this in Greece’s campaign urging tourists to come: Cypriot students on a end-of-year school trip to Thessaloniki had to be moved out of hotels they said were filthy and cockroach-filled to another facility.

The hotels weren’t named but The Cyprus Mail reported that school officials transferred them to other accommodations because the places pre-booked turned out to insect-infested and unsuitable, citing Greek media reports. “The hotel was awful, there were roaches and vermin, electric sockets with wires hanging from them, the toilets were dirty and the tables filthy,” one parent complained. “The students don’t want to shower or eat at the hotel because they’re disgusted and they’re buying food from kiosks.”

Minister of Education Athena Michaelidou said how it happened they were booked would be investigated and “is already being carried out by the secondary school administration, which is in communication with the agency that undertook to organize the excursion.”

She said all trips now will be scrutinized before hand and responsibilities set between organizers, ministries, parents and travel agencies to make sure hotels and accommodations are suitable.

The agency which booked the students wasn’t named either although it wasn’t said why not, the embarrassment coming as Greece is trying to persuade more tourists to go to Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city and port.