Sanji

why not start a thread about brain surgery in foreign hospitals or the uses of rocket science in holiday travel? Most people know as much about them as they do about the Greek political and economic systems.

the question of what will happen in the future to the holiday industry in ANY country with a failing economy is a valid one for discussion in the General board (since more than one county is at risk). Generalised derogatory comments about previous behaviour of a whole nation or it's government don't help and hide the real holiday issues.

hi all......I had plans for Pefkos next year....still do....but am taking the causious route...I did post a topic ages ago asking the questions now being asked here....it is holiday related....same as the exchange rate is pertinent to where we choose to book our holidays and how it effects the quality or quantity of the holiday we get....same as a topic about holiday companies or airlines failing ....only this time its a country and a currency that could fail....it will affect holiday makers ....and it is relevant to discuss how much and to what degree.

The main difference is we dont usually have so much public access to the facts before hand....or people wouldnt hand over hard earned money to find out afterwards that the company or airline was going bust ...but were still taking bookings and their cash.

As its already been mentioned its not just Greece but other popular european holiday destinations with similar problems.....its like theyve all been thrown into a big pot that has ingredients thrown in and taken out ....that boils and thickens or has extra stock added to thin it out.....who knows how the final soup will turn out....and how palatable it will be for future holiday makers...

The danger is its left to boil dry and burn....or gets tipped over in frustration because no matter what gets put in or taken out its still dont taste right.....meaning no one gets fed..

So Im waiting to see how the soup turns out before I pay for my bowl full....tweetie

Generalised derogatory comments about previous behaviour of a whole nation or it's government don't help and hide the real holiday issues.

I hope that's not aimed at me, because my post didn't contain any derogatory comments and if you bothered to read my post, you will have noticed that I said I can't comment specifically on Greece, but I do know a little about Spain, so I did actually include other European destinations, and btw Athensfan my post wasn't aimed at you.

Brain surgery.? Don't be facetious and what people do or don't know about the Greek situation is not the issue, it's the fact that this thread was left to stand and posters have a right to an opinion, and to join in the discussion with whatever knowledge they possess about the situation. In here is not a test on European economics.

It's the moderator's job to decide to intervene or give a reminder which direction the thread should go or indeed lock it.
Maybe the thread should have never been left to stand because as it was entitled the Greek Referendum, and the OP was asking which way we think it will go, it gave no clear indication of which direction the thread should only progress.
Now that's not rocket science is it.?

Enough from me, I have better things to do.

I like your analogy Tweetie Pie These situations are out of our hands but it's the ordinary hard working, law abiding, tax paying people here and in Greece that will affected by the decisions that have to be made. As others have said its worth making sure you have adequate cover when booking anything in case of something going wrong.

Let's hope that the "soup" turns out the be Covent Garden Italian tomato and basil rather than a slim cup a soup vegetable with cauliflower and broccoli

OK..
I moved the thread here, although it is not directly holiday related,

I felt it was a topic worthy of sensible discussions due to the possible ramifications to holiday makers travelling to Europe,

SO PLEASE uphold the HT traditions of Friendly comments,or I will remove this thread

Wizard

Possibly a good idea Wiz..

people have to understand that every post on this site (unlike certain others) has to be checked by a moderator - which takes volunteers time.

every download of a post uses bandwidth which has to be paid for

every long thread stored uses up server space - which also has to be paid for somehow.

So there is a general rule that discussions are about holidays and travel issues. Not about who said what about who in a foreign parliament or the tax paying habits of a foreign country. It's not about censorship, it's about keeping things within the theme of the site. There are political and economic forums that would probably welcome discussion of these issues but which would delete or limit comments about how nice a place Greece is for a holiday.

As moderators, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place with this topic. We have allowed it to run so far as the events do have a bearing on people going to Greece and the Eurozone on holiday.

However the topic is being monitored and will be removed if deemed necessary.

luci

German paper reports that TUI Group have written to Greek hoteliers about payment procedures if Greece leave euro, TUI have confirmed something is going on. By the sounds of it TUI would want to pay in the weaker "new drachma" but obviously the hoteliers would want to deal in euros. If they can't agree TUI would always have the option of going elsewhere - is it me or are there more flights to Croatia next summer? This would be looking at 2013 and beyond since 2012 contracts will already be stitched up and even IF Greece did leave the euro it would take beyond next summer to organise it.

TUI asks Greek hotels to sign new contracts

German tour operator Tui has asked hotels in Greece to sign new contracts allowing them to pay in local currency should Greece leave the eurozone.

A spokesman for the company confirmed it had written to hoteliers after the letter had been reported in German newspaper Bild.

In the letter, Tui said it was entitled to pay in whatever currency was in use if Greece leaves the Eurozone and starts using a new currency.

Bild quoted the latter as saying: "If the euro should no longer be the currency... Tui is entitled to pay the sum of money in the new currency. The exchange rate shall be made at the exchange rate set by the government."

Tui spokesman Robin Zimmermann confirmed the letter had been sent to hoteliers, saying: "As a responsible company, we should protect ourselves for a potential exit of Greece from the eurozone."

But Andreas Andreadis, president of the Greek Tourist Board, told Bild that Tui could not pressure hoteliers into signing such a contract and that no hotelier would agree to it.

Courtesy of TravelMole

Mmm. So basically they want to devalue their currency but people to pay at the old Euro rate

According to today's news- forget Greece, it's now Italy that's the biggest threat to the UK's economy.