As the Greek Euro debt saga continues to roll on and the summer holiday peak season approaches there are well over a million holidaymakers who have booked a holiday in Greece, whether it be the islands or on the mainland. They will naturally have concerns over the stability of their cash availability or perhaps even their hotel. So here is the TripReporter guide to the Greek Debt Crisis. How tourists can avoid holiday misery.
Holiday insurance
Make sure your holiday insurance is comprehensive and has adequate cover and that includes checking the small print. In particular if you have made separate hotel and flight arrangements rather than a package holiday, make sure you have “End Supplier Failure and Scheduled Airline Failure” protection cover. This will ensure you will be covered if your hotel, resort, yacht/boat charter, car hire or airline ceases trading. A quick call to your insurer will provide you with this critical information. If you have booked a package where your total payment for your trip includes everything then this should already be covered under the package company’s ATOL scheme (Air Travel Organisers’ Licencing). Your travel agent or package tour operator is required by law to have an ATOL licence and will clearly display their ATOL number on websites or documentation. If you want more information on this you can find out more here. Paying for your holiday by credit card or Mastercard or VISA debit will also provide an extra layer of protection from the card provider if goods or services are not provided or are faulty.
Cash, credit or ATM?
Clearly, faced with a banking crisis, the Greek banking system will be under pressure with perhaps many banks facing heavy runs on their cash reserves. There could be issues with getting cash from local ATMs so many tourists might resort to just using credit cards, pre-paid cash cards or taking cash with them from home. In many cases local restaurants, shops or excursion operators in Greece will only want to deal in cash so don’t expect to be able to use your credit cards everywhere and pre-paid cash cards will fall under the same category. it is therefore important to ensure you have adequate cash with you to avoid any problems. However walking around with large amounts of euros is not advised under any circumstances, so make sure to keep them safely locked away in your hotel or villa safe or deposit box. This way you can just take with you small amounts of cash to use each day as you need. Split the cash between members of your party to minimise risk.
Should we cancel our Greek Holiday?
With your holiday insurance fully checked for the correct cover and ensuring you have enough cash with you there is no reason to cancel your Greek holiday plans. Greece and her islands are wonderful holiday destinations and the locals in the main resorts areas depend on tourism for their livelihood. The main tourist season is a relatively short period and with the euro falling against many currencies, and local tours offering greater incentives because of the crisis there is every reason to expect a better value holiday than ever before.
