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What if... ? 

Speculation has been growing that Greece will soon leave the euro. Here in the UK, the respected economic commentator Hamish McRae added his own comment in the London Evening Standard, entitled: ‘Greece quitting the euro is no tragedy’. In the article, he looks at the history of countries leaving monetary unions and how governments went about replacing one currency with another.  

So it’s worth considering how a Greek exit might affect anyone holidaying in Greece, and anyone planning a Greek holiday in the near future.   

If Greece leaves the euro, it will have to replace the currency with something else. Most commentators think this will be something like a new drachma, which to begin with would have the same value as the euro. Very soon, however, the new currency would be expected to fall in value, perhaps to as little as half its original worth, with a euro worth two new drachmas. For any holidaymaker out in Greece, the euros they took with them or had already bought locally would then be worth twice as much.   

How will it actually happen?  The normal pattern, according to economic historians, is for the new currency to be introduced over a weekend, with banks continuing to be closed for a few days to allow the new currency to be distributed to them.  They then reopen, with cash being issued in the new denomination – either overprinted euro notes or new drachma notes.   

In that short interim period, we expect local suppliers to continue to accept euros. If there are problems with the processing of card payments, our local staff will be able to work out methods of payment for anyone affected by a halt to card transactions. Hamish McRae ends his article with a piece of advice: “If you plan to go anywhere in southern Europe this summer, take plenty of spare cash – including pounds and dollars – with you just in case...” This is sensible advice.  The pound and, to a lesser extent the dollar, are the most likely other currencies to be accepted.   

There is no doubt in our minds, here at Travel a la carte, that if the unlikely happens and Greece does leave the euro, any practical problems will be short-lived.  On the islands, the local Greeks are experienced, level-headed and resourceful. They are also keenly aware that tourism is the lifeblood of their local economy and their main hope of economic recovery.  So they will do everything to ensure any difficulties are swiftly overcome and managed in the best possible way.  And with a specialist operator like Travel a la carte, with our highly experienced staff both on the ground in Greece and back in the UK, you could not be in better hands if the unexpected happens.  

Tony Wells
Travel a la carte MD
16 May 2012

RESPONSES: [1]

We were in Fiscardo a few weeks ago and it was as beautiful as ever. The hype in the press and media is silly and just not a reflection of life on the islands.  Good luck with the season ahead.
The welcome and smiles we received as the first visitors of the season were very warming. No one hassled us to eat or drink anywhere. We always received a little extra after a meal such as cake or greek yoghurt and honey and nuts or a house digestif. The prices were reasonable and as the exchange rate was in our favour we kept to our budget. We plan to return for two weeks in  late September/October when everywhere is quiet.
Sue.

Are things looking up a bit for Greece? You might think so from a glance at the UK travel sections this weekend. At last, the papers are beginning to correct the impression that the entire country is in chaos and you would be mad to travel there. The Mail today (Saturday) has a piece about some of the smaller islands under the heading ‘Bank on Greece: Forget its economy, the true treasures are hidden on these unexplored islands’. For some strange reason it doesn’t mention our favourites Paxos and Symi but that might be because these are a bit easier to get to. For one of their recommendations, Patmos, the travel advice is: seven to ten hours by ferry from Piraeus!

Today’s Times, too, is more encouraging about Greece as a holiday destination. Replying to a reader worried about the debt crisis and sporadic unrest and asking if they ought to postpone their trip to another year, the paper says May is “a great time to visit Greece” and that they “should be fine”. How right they are, on both counts. And May is also a very good time to visit Greece price-wise, as there are some very good offers to be had, including from us.

Our regular travellers know, of course, that life on the Greek islands pursues its own sweet way oblivious of any trouble in Athens or other major cities. But there is no doubt that the adverse publicity has put off many potential new visitors to Greece. Now that the debt crisis has been solved, for the time being anyway, and Greece is less in the news for the wrong reasons, perhaps those new visitors will think again. If they do, they can be certain of a very warm welcome from the locals, that’s for sure.

Tony Wells
31st March 2012

Flying to Greece in 2012. Part 2: The charters

In the first part of this blog on flights to Greece I reported on how easyJet and Ryanair have been extending their flying programmes to the Greek islands.

Before these two ‘budget’ scheduled airlines entered the fray, the Greek holiday flight market was dominated by charter operators and there is still a wide range of charter flights available to Greek destinations. Often owned by big tour operators, the charter airlines still tend to stick to their formula of one or two week durations, and fixed arrival days (Monday or Friday on Corfu, Wednesday on Rhodes) but between them they offer a wide choice of departure airports from across the UK. Also, while they have not adapted much to the new ‘budget’ competition, the charter airlines can occasionally actually be better value. So when buying flights to Corfu or Rhodes, it is always worth checking out a seat-only site such as Flightline to compare prices.

The largest operator of charter flights to Greece is Thomson. Owned by the German TUI, Thomson has been a leader in the UK package holiday market for many years. Being part of a holiday company, the Thomson airline is often reluctant to sell seats on their aircraft without a Thomson holiday to go with them, at an affordable price anyway. Nevertheless, reasonably priced seats can be found even here. In addition, to Corfu Thomson offers the widest range of departure airports from the UK – 17 in all – and is the only airline to fly there from Doncaster/Sheffield, Edinburgh, Exeter and Norwich. To Rhodes, there’s a more restricted choice of 12 UK airports but they include Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

The next largest charter airline to Greece is the other major player in the UK market, Thomas Cook. Their range of airports is smaller than Thomson’s but they tend to be more flexible, making more one-way flights available, for instance. This means it’s sometimes possible to combine a Thomas Cook outbound, on a morning flight, with a late return with easyJet or Ryanair, a trick which can help with onward boat connections to Paxos or Symi. Thomas Cook operate to Greece from Bristol, Cardiff and Newcastle as well as London, Manchester and Birmingham.

Birmingham is also a particular strength of the last of the three major charter airlines, Monarch. Monarch have a narrower selection of departure points – they concentrate on Gatwick and Luton, Birmingham and Manchester – but their seat prices can be better value than the other two. Monarch can also fly at slightly more civilised times than the others. It has an 8.30 am flight to Corfu from London Gatwick, for example, and a 10.30 am flight from Manchester, both on Mondays.

Tony Wells
Part 3: flying down to Travel à la carte’s newest destination, Kefalonia
 

12 MAR 2012:  Flying to Greece in 2012.  Part 1: The new flexibility 

Now that the air over Greece has cleared a bit, financially speaking, it might be a good time to look at what’s on offer this year in terms of air travel to Greece and the islands. 

The first thing to note is how much things have changed over the last few years. Once easyJet – founded by a Greek-Cypriot, of course – bought the old GB Airways and with it that airline’s slots at the main island airports of Corfu, Crete and Rhodes, Greek island holidays became a whole new ballgame.   

In the case of Corfu – also the hub for our favourite island, nearby Paxos – easyJet soon rapidly expanded its Gatwick service from three to seven and more flights a week  And to Gatwick it soon added Manchester, Bristol and – new for 2012 – Luton.  

More recently Ryanair have seen the light, as well. They are now offering flights to Corfu from Stansted and East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and now – in welcome news for travellers from Scotland– Glasgow.   

Plenty of these Corfu flights connect with the boat to Paxos the same day and, if they don’t, nothing is simpler than to book a hotel in town for the night. And another thing - many of the flights are on days when Corfu airport is blissfully quiet: Ryanair, for instance, flies on Thursdays from Stansted, Leeds and Glasgow, and Wednesdays from East Midlands.  And while Easyjet sticks more to the traditional arrival days of Monday and Friday, they have their daily flights from Gatwick and a Saturday flight from Manchester.  

The advent of these two budget airlines has brought far more flexibility than was available in the past.  Using the daily easyJet flight from Gatwick, for instance, allows travellers to pick and choose both what days they travel and exactly how long they want to stay.  Ten and 11 night (or 20 or 22 night) stays are now possible from Luton (Tuesdays and Saturdays), with easyJet, Stansted (Mondays and Thursdays) with Ryanair, Bristol (Mondays and Fridays) with easyJet and Manchester (Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays) again with easyJet.  

Over on the other side of Greece, Rhodes, the airport for Symi, is almost as well served.  Symi-lovers now have a choice of flights from Bournemouth (Ryanair), East Midlands (Ryanair) Liverpool (Ryanair and easyJet), Stansted (Ryanair) and Gatwick (easyJet).  

And while only easyJet of the budget operators flies to our wonderful new destination of Kefalonia (twice weekly from Gatwick), this is one island that has a great range of charter flights to pick from.   

To fit in with this new world of pick and choose flights and durations, Travel à la carte has become the only specialist operator to our islands to offer complete flexibility.  Travel with us and you can arrive and leave on any day of the week and stay for as long or short a time as you like.  The only minor restriction is in July and August, when we ask you to arrive between Friday and Monday (on Paxos), Saturday or Sunday (on Kefalonia) and Wednesday or Saturday (on Symi).  Beat that! 

Tony Wells
(in Part Two to follow: what the charter operators offer)

5 MAR 2012:

In an opinion poll of over a thousand Greeks reported at the weekend, 67 per cent said they thought a return of the drachma would make the country's situation worse, compared with 13pc who believed it would make things better.

It’s unclear whether this 67 per cent will get their wish and be able to stay in the euro. Many in the financial world believe their chances are slim, although the pundits are less clear about when Greece might be forced to return to its own currency.

But if Greece hangs on to the single currency for the summer, at least, what are the prospects for prices in Greece? How strong is the euro likely to be? This is what holidaymakers to the islands will want to know as they plan their trip this year.

Well, from an official rate of around 1.13 last summer, the pound has strengthened against the euro to 1.20 today, an appreciation of 6%. And for the summer? A ring around the foreign exchange dealers produces a forecast of much the same for the summer: the pound is expected to stay at an official interbank rate of around 1.20, which translates into something like 1.17 for the holidaymaker.

With inflation in Greece running at 2.1 per cent, according to the latest EU figures, this at least means prices for UK travellers will be a little lower than last year. And local reports support this view. The word out on the islands is that shopkeepers, bars and tavernas will certainly be holding their prices this summer and in some cases lowering them.

That is some good news for those of you planning your Greek holiday. Watch this space for more information as the season approaches...

Tony Wells

23 Feb 2012: Strikes this summer?

Not surprisingly, in the present climate, we are often asked by people considering a Greek holiday what would happen if their travel arrangements were affected by strikes.

The first question has to be, how likely are strikes for this summer? We have all seen plenty of reports about the strikes and demonstrations in Athens and other cities on the mainland and it’s easy to suppose that the same things are happening all over Greece.

But, as always, the islands are a different matter, as we saw last year. Last summer there were a number of taxi strikes in Corfu and Rhodes, and occasional disruptions on remoter islands such as Kefalonia and Paxos. There were also seamen’s strikes across Greece on a couple of days. And the air-traffic controllers refused to work on two or three occasions, although never for more than a few hours and only on days, as it happened, when there were few flights directly to the main tourist airports. So what happened to our customers during these strikes, particularly those trying to reach their holiday villa or get to the airport for their flight home?

Well, as you can see from our About Us page, we have a team of very experienced staff on the ground in Greece. When the taxis were out, they put our clients on buses or, if push came to shove, organised lifts in cars. None of our clients missed their flight because of a taxi strike. Similarly, when the usual boats were out of action – potentially a major problem on an island without an airport, like Paxos – our teams on Paxos and Corfu booked everyone onto alternative craft, either private sea taxis or leisure boats, to get them to and from the airport on time. There was some extra expense involved, as sea taxis can cost more than the standard hydrofoils or ferries, but it was no more than £30 a head.

Should we expect the same this year?

Our staff on the islands are reporting a great reluctance on the part of local tradesmen and suppliers to strike again. The taxi drivers reportedly lost so much income during last year’s strikes they simply can’t afford a repeat this summer. We also have no reports of intended seamen’s strikes. Melanie, our representative on the island of Symi, says one company has gone out of business, so there may be one or two fewer boats operating from Rhodes this year, but the remaining ones will be all the keener on our custom. The same is true of the Corfu-Paxos services. And, as I’ve already mentioned, on the Corfu-Paxos route there are other types of boat which will be happy to pick up the business if the main ones are out of action. At the airports, we have no reports of intended strikes or industrial action by controllers or luggage handlers.

We should also see the threat of strikes in the wider context of the Greek economy. The one area which might provide some light in the general economic gloom in Greece is the tourist industry. Tourism and shipping are the two biggest contributors to the Greek economy and many Greek households are involved in tourism in one way or another. With times as hard as they have been, almost all Greeks will be desperate to make sure that visitors have as enjoyable and as undisrupted a stay in their country as possible. The Greeks have a fantastic reputation for hospitality and they will want to add to that this year, I’m sure. So here at Travel à la carte we don’t personally expect any major trouble on the Greek islands from strikes this summer. It is not in the locals’ interest. But if there are problems, you can count on our staff to overcome them as expertly and smoothly as they always have in the past.

Tony Wells

For details of Travel à la carte’s meet & greet services on the Greek islands, follow this link
 

22 Feb 2012:

Chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators Derek Moore has heavily criticised the foreign secretary, William Hague, for treating Greece as if it were a “war zone”. Hague recently advised British residents in Greece and visitors there to register with the FCO in case of an emergency caused by civil unrest.  As Moore points out, and as Travel à la carte’s staff on the spot can corroborate, the civil disturbances in Greece are confined to certain areas of Athens and Thessaloniki; there has been absolutely no sign of trouble on the holiday islands.  The vast majority of British visitors travel directly to the islands, with very few passing through Athens or Thessaloniki, and they are, as Moore says, at no risk whatever.  He calls on the foreign secretary to clarify his remarks immediately and we agree completely with this request.  So far as most of Greece and all of our islands are concerned, Mr Hague’s statement is both misleading and alarmist. It also, as others have noted as well, contradicts the Foreign Office's own travel advice for Greece, which currently has no travel restrictions to the country.   

Follow this link for the full text of Derek Moore’s response to Mr Hague's statement.
Tony Wells

22 Feb 2012:

For the past two months, the British newspapers have been full of reports and comment about Greece and its immediate prospects. Last weekend was no exception, with a string of papers from the Mail and the Independent to the Saturday and Sunday Telegraphs discussing the dire state of the Greek economy and the growing resistance in Greece to further austerity measures.

These reports can give the impression that the whole of Greece is in turmoil and most Greek citizens are out on the streets throwing stones and setting fire to buildings. But so far as the islands are concerned, nothing could be further from the truth, as our staff out there have been confirming. To give an example. Last Monday 13th February, Reuters news agency reported that the previous day’s violence in Athens and Thessaloniki had spread to “towns across the country and the islands of Crete and Corfu”. Surprised that Corfu was included, I emailed our resident Corfu agent, Stefanos, to check what had happened there. His reply was that while there had been a peaceful demonstration, there were no riots, no police involved, and the only damage had been to the offices of two local MPs.

Most UK reporting understandably centres on Athens, where most foreign correspondents are based. Corfu, though, is an hour’s flight from Athens, as is Kefalonia, so a bit like Jersey in relation to London. Paxos is another hour by sea from Corfu, Symi is two hours from Rhodes ... so you can see how little events on these islands will have in common with those several hundred miles away on the mainland.
So you should currently have no fears about taking a holiday in the Greek islands. The Foreign Office travel advice on Greece remains only that visitors should avoid demonstrations; otherwise there are no restrictions on travel. This advice applies with even more force to the islands, the smaller and more remote ones in particular.
Tony Wells

21 Feb 2012:

The most recent outbreaks of unrest in Greek before the vote on the EU rescue package were confined to Athens and the mainland. Life on Paxos and our other islands continued completely as normal, the main problem there being caused by the weather.  Our Paxos director Chris Griffiths, who lives on the island all year round, said storms and heavy downpours affected internet connections and led to power cuts. On Symi, in one violent rainstorm, an English resident was tragically swept to her death. Our Symi rep, Melanie, a permanent resident, told us the island is still in shock.

Reuters reported that the political violence in Athens had spread to Corfu but our man on the spot, Stefanos, who has been our agent there for over 20 years, said the only incidents were an attack on the offices of the two local MPs. There were no other demonstrations or public disorder. 

Those of you who want to keep track of political developments in Greece might be interested in the English language websites of Greek newspaper Kathemerini www.ekathimerini.com and Athens News in English www.athensnews.gr.
Tony Wells