Prices being slashed on Greek summer holidays amidst crisis
13.06.2012
In: World travel news
GREECE is offering holiday discounts of up to 25 per cent this European summer in a desperate bid to entice tourists to the crisis-hit country.
Operators such as Olympic Holidays are slashing their prices on holiday packages as the peak-time tourist season begins,The Daily Mail reports.
The debt-ridden nation faces an exit from the Eurozone, with Greeks heading to the polls this Sunday.
Olympic Holidays' commercial director Photis Lambrianides told the Daily Mail discounts of this size were not normal but had come about by the different set of circumstances his country faces at the moment.
"Although some commentators have quite rightly been pointing out that there’s never been a better year to go to Greece, people are still rather uncertain," he said.
"We have started tactical discounting on selected holidays, where we have commitments to flight seats and hotel beds, and these offer families amazing value for peak season."
Tourists flock to Greek destinations such as Rhodes, Kos, Crete vacation rentals and Santorini in the summer months, but there have been fears its unstable political and economic situation could put people off going.
Olympic Holidays has sought to reassure holidaymakers on its website that the country is safe to visit and the main tourist areas remain unaffected by the crisis.
He said the average cost of a shopping basket in Greece - including a meal for two, drinks and sun cream - is 10 per cent cheaper this year than last, making it an ideal place for recession-hit travellers to visit.
Operators such as Olympic Holidays are slashing their prices on holiday packages as the peak-time tourist season begins,The Daily Mail reports.
The debt-ridden nation faces an exit from the Eurozone, with Greeks heading to the polls this Sunday.
Olympic Holidays' commercial director Photis Lambrianides told the Daily Mail discounts of this size were not normal but had come about by the different set of circumstances his country faces at the moment.
"Although some commentators have quite rightly been pointing out that there’s never been a better year to go to Greece, people are still rather uncertain," he said.
"We have started tactical discounting on selected holidays, where we have commitments to flight seats and hotel beds, and these offer families amazing value for peak season."
Tourists flock to Greek destinations such as Rhodes, Kos, Crete vacation rentals and Santorini in the summer months, but there have been fears its unstable political and economic situation could put people off going.
Olympic Holidays has sought to reassure holidaymakers on its website that the country is safe to visit and the main tourist areas remain unaffected by the crisis.
He said the average cost of a shopping basket in Greece - including a meal for two, drinks and sun cream - is 10 per cent cheaper this year than last, making it an ideal place for recession-hit travellers to visit.