Greece counts on tourism after strike wounds

Greek tourism, vital for the stricken economy and jobs, struggled back to its feet on Monday after a truckers' strike, the latest in a string of disputes which have hit at the heart of the travel sector.

Although voices in the industry express hope that there is still time for people to come on holiday so that they can salvage what is left of the season, there is no hiding the damage done.

Truckers returned to the roads on Monday after a week-long strike stranded thousands of travellers and nearly dried up fuel supplies around the country at the peak of the season.

Many tourism and agriculture businesses, ranging from hotels and car rentals to peach exporters, complained they were badly hit by the strike against reforms to open up the restrictive freight sector.

The strikers backed down after the government sent out military lorries and private trucks under police escort to bypass the protests and resupply hospitals, electricity plants and petrol stations in main cities.

The country, rescued three months ago from debt default and now in the depths of draconian reforms to modernise and restructure its economy, needs every tourist it can attract in the rest of the season.

The tourism ministry says that the sector generates 18 percent of Greek national output, employing 850,000 people directly or indirectly.

So it was hoped that after the debt crisis, and a series of strikes against the government's reforms which followed, holidaymakers would help the economy begin to fight back.

The debt crisis led to a 110-billion-euro (143-billion-dollar) rescue from the International Monetary Fund and European Union.

Greeks are now experiencing radical action to correct public finances and, in the words of Prime Minister George Papandreou, to change everything about how the economy functions.

But a string of sector protest strikes -- by railway workers, seamen, air traffic controllers and -- have all taken their toll on the tourism sector, on top of six general strikes this year.

Now the trucks are on the move again, and the tourism sector is trying to strike a confident note.

Georges Telonis, president of the association of Greek travel agents, forecast that the number of tourists in 2010 would end up being the same as last year.

"We have avoided catastrophe, now things must move on, the Greeks are leaving for the islands and the boats are full, we must see what will happen in September," Telonis told AFP.

Spyros Guinis, vice-president of general federation of tourism enterprises, said that September and October "would be decisive," forecasting a 5.0-percent drop in numbers and a 9.0-percent fall in revenues.

"The damage has already been done by the previous strikes, which were bad publicity -- it was an own goal," Guinis told AFP. "But if the situation remains calm, everything could return to order."

The powerful association of Greek tourism enterprises (SETE) sounded the alarm last week over the impact of the truckers' strike.

"The present situation is turning into a disaster for the country, the economy and tourism, following the chaos at the airports that caused incalculable damage to the image of out country," SETE said in a statement.

Vassilis Korkidis, president of the Greek trade association, said that the period until August 15 was the peak of the season and the truckers' strike meant "a whole week has already been lost."

Sourced=AFP