The Americans are sending their tourists to the “PIGS”

By Vasilis Dalianis

The widely distributed American newspaper “USA Today”, considers this to be an ideal season for tourism in Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal.

In a central article, the newspaper cites information from travel agents according to which the PIGS countries are now a strong competitor, compared to the major tourist destinations in the continent, namely France, Britain and Italy.

Estimates of people in the tourism industry, the newspaper said, refer to attractive tourist packages in all areas, such as hotel accommodation, travel and visits to tourist and archaeological sites.

The author of the article does not fail, however, to emphasize to American travelers that despite the opportunities offered by the current economic crisis, they must be careful in choosing a destination such as Portugal, which is “flirting with bankruptcy”, as he characteristically states, and in Greece of the “continuous strikes”, they may encounter surprises.

Watch out for the strikes!

As the article says, “it is likely to find a strike in Greece that will cripple your holidays, as the Greeks are fed up with the continuing austerity measures and have every reason to complain”.

It also refers to the very optimistic forecasts for this year's tourist season in Greece, due to the unrest in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, and also mentions the impeccable tourist infrastructure in Greece, Spain and Portugal.

Another important factor that will attract American tourists is the excellent cuisine of the Mediterranean countries and the fact that restaurants serve dinner later than they are accustomed in the U.S.

The author urges American tourists to visit these four European countries to show their children the roots of American culture since, as he characteristically writes, “our legal system, our past and our culture come from Europe. If you want your children to learn our past, take them with you there”.

However, the U.S. newspaper fails to mention that lately the euro has been becoming more expensive than the dollar and that this development is obviously not in favor of those who are thinking of visiting Europe in general.