Greece, often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization, is well known for its contributions of democracy, art and architecture, philosophy, theater, university education and, among many other things, the introduction of the coin. Ironically, this nation that brought us the coin as currency is now in the midst of a severe economic crisis admitting a deficit that, if left alone, would bring about the collapse of the economy within weeks. In order to prevent this from happening, the Greek government has introduced a number of alterations including increase in taxes, adjusting retirement age and pension as well as cutting bonuses in the public sector. Protests have been held quietly in Athens for months, but the recent vote on austerity measures brought on an eruption in the streets. Reports indicate that there were fourteen arrests and numerous civilians and police officers were injured as crowds gathered outside parliament during the vote.

Greece joined what is now the European Union in 1981 and has long enjoyed a high quality of life ranking and Human Development Index. Despite this, it recently came to light that the economy of Greece was more fractured than it appeared. In 2010, Greece revealed that successive governments had hidden the truth of the increasingly troubled economy to maintain good standing within the eurozone. This revelation led to a series of reports on tax evasion, generous benefits and bonuses and the usual issues brought on by mild corruption and greed.

For a foreigner, it may be easy to understand that despite these economic issues, Greece has maintained a high quality of life and remains a popular destination with tourists. The country itself covers nearly 51,000 square miles and boasts the 12th longest coastline in the world with nearly 8,500 mi including the numerous islands. Between the mountains, history, islands and nearly endless sea, this modern/ancient country has long been a popular tourist destination. Now, more than ever, Greece will need this popularity to help pull out of a deep and looming deficit.

With more than 17 million visitors each year, tourism in Greece account for more than 17% of the Gross Domestic Product and employs upwards of 650,000. While there is tension in Athens, much of the rest of Greece remains, for lack of a better term, open for business. With much of North Africa suffering more deep seeded unrest, the comparatively quiet protests in Athens are not enough to scare of sun worshipers and holiday seekers. Fear of losing potential customers have forced prices down in many of Greece’s popular holiday destinations while landing and taking-off fees have been waived on airports outside of Athens and levies on ferry tickets have been removed as well.

While these decreases in cost are expected to attract an increase of 10% in numbers of tourists, there is also debate as to whether the bargain hunting tourist will be that beneficial to the economy at large. Enticing tourists is not difficult with the warm and inviting climate, endless coastline and uncountable islands, but getting visitors to part with their money once they enter the country is another issue. Some are happy to be helping with economic crisis by contributing to local businesses, but others are remiss to part with their hard earned holiday money with the global economy still suffering as well.