Greece will pay if strikers delay tourists, says minister
Greece has pledged to cover extra costs incurred by tourists stranded there by strikes or the ash cloud.
In a bid to turn around the debt-ridden country’s fortunes since striking and rioting broke out following deep spending cuts, Greek tourism and culture minister Pavlos Geroulanos said that the country would pick up the tab for tourists who were inconvenienced by strikes.
He told a new conference in Athens : "We are guaranteeing to pay any extra room and board for any visitor in Greece even if stuck here because of a volcano in Iceland."
The country has been experiencing a major debt crisis and only avoided going bankrupt by using the first chunk of an E110 billion EU and IMF bail-out.
But to get that money the government has had to make swingeing cuts which have enraged the capital’s civil service whose pay and pensions have been cut.
Strikes at airports, ferry ports and rail stations followed and public transport ground to a halt.
One in five jobs in Greece is connected to tourism and the chaos has deeply impacted the numbers of visitors coming to Greece.
Dinah
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