Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Greek tourism reels from fuel shortage, strikes
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Asia Pacific
World
Greek tourism reels from fuel shortage, strikes
AFP - Sunday, August 1
Send
IM Story
Print
Greek tourism reels from fuel shortage, strikes
ATHENS (AFP) - – Disaster has struck Greece's crucial tourism industry at the peak of a summer season badly needed by its recession-hit economy with a national fuel shortage compounding weeks of on-off work unrest.
A strike wave against austerity policies, a violent May protest in which three people died in a firebombed bank and unionist action targeting cruise ships and flights have made for a calamitous season, operators say.
And additional disruption caused to tens of thousands of travellers by the fuel holdup caused by a trucker walkout could not have come at a worse time for a sector which makes up nearly a fifth of the troubled Greek economy.
"The situation is absurd... we face a barrage of cancellations," said Andreas Andreadis, chairman of the Panhellenic Hotel Confederation.
The strike came as thousands of Greeks embarked on vacation with many of them unsure whether they would be able to return.
"I'm going to the island of Lefkada but I don't know whether I'll be back, maybe I'll have to leave my car behind," said one motorist filling up at a gas station.
A broad range of businesses from tourism car rentals to fruit growers were badly hit by the trucker protest which began last Sunday against plans by the government to liberalise the tightly-controlled freight sector.
The truckers on Friday decided to maintain their protest, ignoring warnings by the government that strikers who continue to defy the law would be prosecuted and that their operating licenses could be forfeit.
The authorities were forced to use military vehicles and petrol station trucks to alleviate the shortage but supplies were unlikely to return to full capacity before Monday.
The truckers say that boosting competition in the freight sector by reducing new licence charges is unfair to existing operators who have already paid high start-up fees running up to 300,000 euros (391,000 dollars).
The plan is part of a reform programme that the government committed to in May in exchange for a 110-billion-euro (143-billion-dollar) bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund and European Union to stave off debt default.
The country's leading unions have staged six general strikes and several protests since the start of the year against wage and pension cuts ordered by the Socialist government which came close to bankruptcy earlier this year.
The main Greek port of Piraeus that links the mainland with islands popular with holidaymakers has also been repeatedly blockaded by protesters this year while a work-to-rule action by air traffic controllers in late July caused widespread flight delays.
With its back against the wall, the Greek government in June promised to compensate travellers stranded in the country by labour unrest.
But officials have so far given no details on the level of compensation nor how it would be paid.
"The present situation is turning into a disaster for the country, the economy and tourism," the association of Greek tourism entreprises (SETE) said in a statement this week.
The fuel shortage was discouraging tourists from neighbouring Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia from driving to Greece, SETE added.
Before the fuel trouble struck, Greek hotels faced a three-percent fall in bookings and a drop in proceeds of 10-12 percent, Andreadis said.
"A fall of one percent in tourism proceeds corresponds to 200 million euros in lost income for the country and 1,000 job losses," he told Flash Radio.
"And this is the worst showing in Europe, all our competitors including eurozone countries such as Spain and Portugal have increased their proceeds this year."
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Eerie Munch prints get US National Gallery retrospective AFP - Sunday, August 1
Serbian film 'Tilva Ros' wins Sarajevo festival AFP - Sunday, August 1
Movie tax cuts 'help struggling California economy' AFP - Sunday, August 1
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Reuters - Saturday, July 31
As Emmys host, Jimmy Fallon aims not to offend Reuters - Saturday, July 31
News Search
Top Stories
'Overwhelming emotion' as Chelsea Clinton marries
Debate on death and taxes heats up as billionaires fall
Dibaba wins women's 10,000m
New BP boss off to Russia to mend fences: report
Engineers prepare to seal ruptured oil well
More Top Stories »
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study
Engineers prepare to seal ruptured oil well
'Overwhelming emotion' as Chelsea Clinton marries
US growth slows fueling fears over recovery
US Fed official warns of 'Japanese-style' stagnation
More Most Viewed »
Parachuting donkey shocks Russian beachgoers
Argentine students crack three-decade-old murder mystery
World's first full face transplant man appears on TV
Paris Hilton caught with cannabis in handbag
Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo!
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Asia Entertainment
Photos
World Cup 2010
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Sunday, 1 August 2010 'Flash floods kill at least 65 in Afghanistan'
New BP boss off to Russia to mend fences: report
Hackers pick up where Facebook privacy leaves off
Afghan official: 3 die in Kunduz suicide bombing
Mexico police free journalists seized by drug gangs
|
Dibaba wins women's 10,000m
Chelsea Clinton tying the knot in lavish, secretive wedding
MSF suspends aid to south Sudan region after attacks
|
Colombia says never thought to attack Venezuela
|
Pakistan spy chief scraps UK trip on "terror" remarks
Tseng on song at British Open
Two China mine industry accidents kill 17, trap 24
Sri Lankan, Hawaiian sites make world heritage list
Kashima maintain J-League lead
Teen Dutch sailor to head off Wednesday for solo world bid
All Blacks destroy Wallabies in Tri Nations rout
Movie tax cuts 'help struggling California economy'
"Black box" recovered from Pakistan crash site
British sculptor's cast-iron humans conquer Austrian Alps
'Reliance, Universal in talks for Indian theme park'
Roadside bomb kills six in Afghanistan
Russia fires cover 100,000 hectares
British police hold two over MI6 parcel bomb
|
UAE to suspend some Blackberry services
British PM facing rough ride in Pakistan
Bomb found at Britain's MI6 spy agency
Israel strikes Gaza tunnels after rocket launch
|
Hacker makes mobile phone snooping affordable
Debate on death and taxes heats up as billionaires fall
Six Afghan civilians die in roadside bomb blast
|
Frenchman, 80, freed after year in wife's laundry prison
Israel strikes Gaza tunnels after rocket launch
Brazil offers asylum to Iranian woman facing stoning
|
US-TECH Summary
Brazil offers asylum to Iranian woman facing stoning
Mexican police free journalists seized by drug gangs
|
Japan mobile phone makers to roll out 'augmented reality'
6 Afghans killed when minibus hits roadside bomb
Iraq civilian death toll almost doubles in July
|
Hack attack hits ATM jackpots
MSF suspends aid to south Sudan region after attacks
Philippines says arrests key massacre suspect in south
|
Mysterious 'insurance file' posted on WikiLeaks
South Korean killed by North Korean mine: report
|
Indian troops enforce strict curfew in Kashmir
Top security as Chelsea Clinton ties the knot
UAE to suspend Blackberry service on security fears
|
Philippines says arrests key massacre suspect in south
Heat on coach after Wallabies defeat
Philippine president steps into airline row
South Korean killed by North Korean mine
Seven hours the magic number for sleep: study
Ex-Aussie PM threatens legal action over leaks claim
Philippines remembers Cory Aquino, democracy icon
Greek tourism reels from fuel shortage, strikes
Bedbugs take bite out of Big Apple
Drifting N.Korean mine kills S.Korean
Malaysia 'Imam Idol' seeks to put friendly face on Islam
Pregnancy denial syndrome: a case for defence?
Eerie Munch prints get US National Gallery retrospective
Tens of thousands march in Sweden Gay Pride
Sex sells at China computer game show
Trade ban prompts N.Korea to find Chinese partners: report
Rowers break 114-year-old Atlantic crossing record
Serbian film 'Tilva Ros' wins Sarajevo festival
China's manufacturing activity slows in July
S.Korea trade surplus widens in July
Growth in Chinese manufacturing continues to slow
24 remain trapped in flooded coal mine in NE China
Japanese user claims Twitter's 20 billionth tweet
Israeli warplanes hit Gaza after new rocket attack
Death toll climbs as Russia forest fires spread
Floods wreak havoc across Pakistan, over 1,000 killed
|
Japan robot brings visitors home by video-phone
Dutch troops leave Afghanistan after four years
Indian police fire on protest in Kashmir, two dead
|
China, Vietnam, Iran win UNESCO heritage honours
WikiLeaks guilty, at least morally: Robert Gates
|
Iran rebuffs Obama's call to free U.S. detainees
Pakistan president to visit Britain amid terror row
|
Iraq civilian death toll almost doubles in July
Mugabe lashes out at West over Zimbabwe sanctions
|
Qaeda says held talks on hostage killed in Sahara
|
6 Afghans killed when minibus hits roadside bomb
Anxiety grips Kenya's Rift Valley farms over vote
|
Pakistan flood toll tops 1,000 as cholera emerges
Pakistan flood toll tops 1,000
Flood toll in China's northeast rises to 100
Floods wreak havoc across Pakistan, over 1,000 killed
Hong Kong people rally to save Cantonese language
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Chelsea Clinton weds at exclusive New York estate
Aussie PM struggles with election campaign
Jazz singer Jarreau leaves hospital in France
Yellow lobster pulled from RI's Narragansett Bay
Folau double sinks NRL leaders Dragons
3 inmates escape from northwest Arizona prison
'Overwhelming emotion' as Chelsea weds in white
N.Korea renews retaliation threats ahead of US envoy trip
Random House sees e-book sales jumping: CEO
|
Chinese rescuers battle to save 24 trapped in mine
Bangladesh garment workers in new clashes with police
Philippines govt intervenes to resolve airline row
Jazz singer Jarreau leaves hospital in France
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights