Tourists Turn a Blind Eye to Greek Crisis, Still Pick Greece
The Greek referendum on Sunday may have led to political turmoil in the EU but travelers are still coming to Greek shores with the number of British tourists seen as rising.
According to the Mail Online, Britons’ are keen on visiting Greece, with online searches for flights from the UK to Greece increasing by 16 percent since banks closed last week.
The paper adds that many tour operators have slashed their package deals by as much as 50 percent on trips to some of the country’s most popular islands, while the exchange rate is also drawing in the crowds from the US.
The Mail Online cites a study by travel website Skyscanner, which found that searches for UK-Greece flights were up 12 percent compared with the same period in 2014.
British travelers prefer to overlook Greece’s predicament and instead make the best of the situation with massive savings on package and self-catering holidays.
In the meantime, under the title “3 Big Ways the Crisis in Greece Could Affect Americans Personally”, the Washington Post points out that “Your vacation could get cheaper”, with the euro plunging against the dollar, “the good news for Americans is that it means every dollar you’ve saved for that European vacation will go further — and summer is peak tourist season in Greece”.
The US paper adds that travel sites are advertising deals on European holidays, with Orbitz referring to Greece as “a world of destinations” and German airline Lufthansa naming Athens its “pick of the week”.
As far as traveling to Greece is concerned, relevant travel boards are issuing travel warnings calling for precautions, namely having cash available and planning ahead.
In its latest travel advisory, ABTA, the UK’s largest travel association, does not anticipate that tour operators will need to rebook their customers to a different destination and is suggesting that holidaymakers take enough euros in cash to cover all of their needs and take out travel insurance as soon as they book their holiday.