It is the beginning of August. And now is the most suitable time to see what foreigners think about the situation in Greece and what image of the country the foreign media managed to build recently in the minds of the viewers, readers, and listeners. And also are the tourists worried of the constant strikes in the country? August is the month that brings to Greece the end “recipients” of the information spread beyond the borders of the country, the ordinary people. Now they are able to see and appreciate things with their own eyes and give their opinion.
It is noisy at the port of Piraeus in the late afternoon. Passengers with sacks and wheeled bags eagerly move to the ship that will sail to the island of Paros. Others are sitting on their bags near the ticket counters, devoted to rest and waiting for the last minute to load their luggage and themselves on the ship. They are basking in the almost setting sun.
Ellie is a young woman from Norway. She is among those who are reluctant to sail to the island. Ellie explained that she is traveling to Paros, but her final destination is Antiparos. To my question how she and her friend have decided to come to Greece despite the constant strikes, she replied: “We do not know details of the strikes because we were on vacation for several weeks. We are coming from London now and we were not able to follow the news there. But it is true that many people are afraid to come. And if they come they expect that hotels will be bankrupt or there will be no airlines and other things like that. In fact, it’s not so” – Ellie said. To whether she considers the situation this summer as hard she answered: “I do not think the situation is so bad. We just do not go to big hotels but with families we know and where we stayed before.” Ellie did not chose Antiparos for the lower prices. She even believes that there are no cheap islands. “The islands are much more expensive than they were before” – she said. “We chose Antiparos, because we have heard very good things and I have never been there. I've been to many other places in Greece. This time I decided to see it. Ellie is firm for the prices: “Prices of the place where we will stay are double. We surely will have to spend more money than we would spend in London. I think we will haggle over the price. It is too expensive and we will stay there for almost two weeks.”
I spoke with another nice middle-aged woman from France. She came to Greece with her husband and five of the six children. Her name is Anne Ranson - Terestchenko. The family will sail to the beautiful island Kufonisi. “We’ve been coming to Greece for nearly 25 years. We try to travel almost every summer, however, it is getting more expensive. Prices are different than before and are very, very high. So, fewer tourists come here. People prefer to go to Spain, for example. It is three times more expensive here than there,” said the nice woman. “We are unable to visit the country each year due to the high prices. But whenever we save some money we are coming. We are very happy that five of the six children could come with us this year. We heard a lot about the crisis, which is particularly severe in Greece. We heard and saw many things on the news. We knew about the strikes. They said things may get even worse in September. We found that many people won’t be able to fill their refrigerators, but also that low wages will be reduced further. Prices will rise again. So, people will still be on the streets in September again” – thinks Anna Ranson. As for prices, she said: “For a day here I spent money that I can not spend in France for a week.” “But not in Paris,” one of her daughters corrects her. “It is very expensive in Paris too,” the girl continues.
“I do not think things are bad here,” – said my last companion. She is from Montreal, also middle aged. The woman refused to tell me her name and also to take a photo of her. But, in return, she gave me a clear and firm response and a very different viewpoint. “Prices really are not high compared with Canada. Even the prices on the islands are reasonable. I find them not high at all. It is not necessary to spend a lot. There are many places where prices are very good with regard to hotels and meals. On Santorini, where we were, the prices were wonderful, really wonderful. We stayed at a beautiful hotel with a swimming pool and other extras and the price per night was 60 euros. I've been in Greece many, many times. I come here almost every summer, and even have relatives living in Piraeus. I think everything is great,” said my Canadian companion with notable optimism. “I do not believe things will get worse in September. I really do not believe. I believe that it is rather about things that are played at the political level. We heard so many things in Canada about the situation here, but as we came, we saw that nothing is really that bad. We toured the city and really do not see any serious problem. Even with the strikes.” – concluded the woman with optimism.
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