Can Tourists SAVE Greece ??

[Nictoshek]

In this summer of discontent for Greece, tourism is needed more than ever to be the economy's lifeboat.

The industry contributes 17 percent to an ever-contracting economy. Hoteliers, taverna owners and sailboat skippers are heading into peak tourist season, praying for both another record year and that Athens succeeds in getting a financial lifeline to stay in the euro zone.

All things going well, this is how the next three months could unfold, according to government projections, with visitors topping out at more than 3 million.

Greece Needs Tourists to Bail It Out Now More Than Ever

[Nictoshek]

Fearing Capital Controls, Tourists Request Hotel Safes In Greece

Daniel Ivandjiiski 06/19/2015

On Friday, Austrian finance minister Hans Schelling said he assumed Austrian tourists vacationing in Greece would still be able to withdraw money from ATMs on Monday, but if not, Schelling indicated he would need to “discuss with leaders what positions have to be taken.”

If that doesn’t inspire much confidence or perhaps makes you rethink any plans you might have had to join Yanis Varoufakis for a scenic Aegean sunset on the island of Aegina, you’re not alone. In fact, ATM operator Travelex has the following tip for anyone considering a trip to Greece: “Our advice is to exercise caution.”

In a sign of the times, Bloomberg reports that contentious negotiations between Greece and the troika combined with talk of looming capital controls have sparked renewed interest in a long-forgotten hotel perk. Here’s more:

Greek resort manager Kostas Dimitrokalis’s customers have started asking in recent weeks about an amenity often ignored in an age of online and credit card payments: reliable hotel safes to stash their money.

“Clients want to feel secure that if something happens, they’ll have funds,” Dimitrokalis, who heads the KD Hotels chain with six resorts on the island of Santorini, said in a telephone interview. “They’re coming with more cash.”

Helping travelers rest easy is something Dimitrokalis can handle. More troubling for him is what if they simply don’t come at all? While his hotels are full right now, Dimitrokalis says forward bookings are weak given the uncertainty surrounding the country’s financing.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Greece’s tourism industry as a whole. The Association of Greek
Tourism Enterprises, which said last month that a strong start to the year had been trailing off, declined this week to discuss the possible impact of the government’s showdown with creditors because “the situation is just too fluid"..

Tourism generates 17 percent of gross domestic product in Greece, meaning any slowdown would hit the economy hard. Before the latest flareup in the funding dispute, the country was heading toward a record year for visitors, with the number of tourists surging 46 percent in the first quarter to 1.73 million, according to the latest data from the Bank of Greece.

TUI AG, Europe’s largest tour operator, said it’s only had sporadic inquiries from travelers about the impact a Greek exit from the euro would have on their holiday, while Thomas Cook Group Plc said it still sees strong demand for travel to the country. Both companies said trips wouldn’t be affected because they are selling package tours to customers.

The advice from experts for travelers heading to the country is to keep abreast of the latest developments and bring along enough cash to last 3-4 days just in case, said David Swann, a spokesman for Travelex.
This speaks to why a dramatic VAT hike has been a non-starter for Greece in its negotiations with creditors — Athens fears it will kill the "one industry that's doing well," to quote the country's tourism chief. In fact, the VAT issue is so sensitive that Yorgos Hatzimarkos, governor of vacation destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini, has threatened to hold a referendum on the issue. Now, the threat of a bank holiday and restricted access to deposits has given vacationers one more reason to avoid Greece.

In short, just about the last thing the country's tourism industry needs is capital controls. If the ATMs go dark next week, the flow of vactioners will likely dry up quickly, safes or no safes.

[Jaga]

We are just going to Italy in two days. I was in Greece two times in the past, but do not plan to go again soon.

I wish well to Greece and EU, but they can go their separate ways.

[karl]

My self am in complete agreement with Jaga. Is as far as with Greece, the best for us all is{ Bye Bye}.

Karl

[Nictoshek]

“People are scared -- the uncertainty,” Vasileios said in his office. “I had to pay for the food of a client the other day. We are talking 20 euros. They just didn’t have it. Six people in Santorini can’t pay the taxi driver. I was just off the phone to them.”

Cancelations will only exacerbate the problems for the Greek economy, said Kostas Mallios, who sells Ancient Greece-inspired trinkets at a shop. He depends on the six months of tourist season to stay solvent the rest of the year.

Empty Greek ATMs Force Tourists to Stiff Santorini Cabbies

[Nictoshek]

Tourists visit the temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, July 7,2015. Europe's most indebted country is closer than ever to an exit from the euro zone, with banks low on cash and creditor nations led by Germany running even lower on patience.

How a Chaotic Grexit Could Wipe Out $1.4 Trillion in Global M&A

by Manuel BaigorriElizabeth Fournier

The fallout of a Greek exit from the euro could wipe out as much as $1.4 trillion in future mergers and acquisitions, according to a study by law firm Baker & McKenzie.

A disorderly ‘Grexit’ -- where the financial impact spreads unconstrained across global markets -- could stymie about $250 billion of dealmaking next year in Europe, excluding the U.K., according to the study, which is based on financial modeling by Oxford Economics.

The uncertainty created by a Greek exit would likely lower European equity prices, increase bond yields for countries such as Italy and Spain and damp business confidence and investment, the report says.

Transactions in the U.S. and China may also be affected, resulting in lost deals worth about $700 billion in the two countries through 2020. A well-managed exit from Europe’s single currency would be less harmful in the same five-year period, sending deal activity in the region, excluding the U.K., just two percent lower.

Restarting Negotiations

Euro-area finance chiefs will discuss Greece’s economic proposals on a conference call Wednesday morning, the first step toward restarting negotiations that Greece broke off late last month. Greece on Tuesday promised to put its plans in writing as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “only a few days” are left to reach a deal.

Despite large losses in equities seen as vulnerable to Greek contagion, dealmakers remain optimistic. Global M&A activity this year is on track to pass $3 trillion for the first time since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Among the uncertainty, Greek companies are managing to do deals. U.K. private-equity firm BC Partners agreed on June 3 to buy a majority stake in Athens-based Pharmathen, a drugmaker with about 1,000 employees, while media company Antenna Group is in preliminary talks to buy Turkey’s Karnaval Media Group, a person with knowledge of the matter said last month.