Tourists Shun Greece, Try Turkey

Wall Street Journal
August 6, 2010

In the big-money world of mass tourism, Greece's woes are proving a boon for Turkey as vacationers vote with their flip-flops to avoid a country in financial crisis.

Greek hotels and tour operators have been slashing prices and scaling back staff in a bid to recoup, after TV images of street riots coupled with a strong euro earlier this year persuaded vacationers to book elsewhere.

That is bad news for Greece, which is already facing declining growth and budget deficits. Tourism makes up about 15% of the country's gross domestic product, and many economists say this summer's tourist season will be critical for a weakened economy that is forecast to shrink around 4% this year.

So far, tourism revenues are down almost 9% this year compared with the period in 2009—itself a bad year—according to the latest Bank of Greece data. In May, Athens hoteliers saw some 30,000 cancellations after protests rocked the capital, leaving three bank workers dead.

More