Greek islands hit by power cuts
Britons holidaying in Greece face further power cuts as electricity workers go ahead with plans for a rolling series of 48-hour strikes.
Rhodes, Crete and parts of Athens were left without electricity for a total of five hours yesterday during the first walk-out, which was sparked by the government's plans to privatise the Public Power Corporation (PPC).
The strike put nine power plants in various locations out of action, cutting the power to some islands and parts of Athens between noon and 3 pm and 8 pm and 10 pm. A few hotels are believed to have been affected by the blackouts.
Greece specialist Sunvil admitted it had received calls from clients concerned about the country's deepening economic crisis, but it tsaid the strikes had not affected its bookings.
"We can confirm that, at the current time, none of our accommodation has been affected by power cuts," it said in a statment on its website. "Our local teams have advised that any power cuts that do occur are likely to affect the major cities, be short in duration and occur in the afternoons. Power cuts have always been a way of life in Greece especially in the heat of the summer."
Liliana Voidanidi, a spokeswoman for the Greece National Tourism Organisation in London said most hotels had generators and so would not be affected by the power outages. "I don't think this will put people off coming to Greece, our visitor numbers are up 10% on last year," she said.
"Prices have been lowered, we have been running a good campaign and Greece is coming back as a tourist destination."
Meanwhile, the public and private sector unions, ADEDY and GSEE, have called a 48-hour strike for next Monday and Tuesday, when Parliament is due to debate and vote on the midterm fiscal plan.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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