OPINION

Still time to protect Greece

When we held our meeting to decide on this week’s lead story, we thought that maybe we were getting a little too negative by choosing to focus on the price gouging of tourists. People come here to have a good time, some of us argued, so maybe it gets to be a bit much to keep hearing about negative aspects to visiting Greece (or living here). In previous weeks we had already investigated how the haphazard opening times at museums and archaeological sites dishearten visitors, on the bad habits of taxi drivers, on how ferry companies are battling to control costs at a time of rising oil prices, and how prices for many goods and services are often more expensive in Greece than in other European countries (for everyone, not just visitors). We asked ourselves whether it was wise to add another negative story. The answers, though, were quick and convincing: This is the tourism season, if we are to be of any use to readers it will have to be now; our mission is not to make Greece look good (we’ll let the country and its people speak for themselves), but to point out the problems and propose solutions; if the authorities are not doing what they should to remedy the situation, it’s our job to point that out to them and to the public. We know that Greece has a problem in that some people try to fleece tourists. Even one such profiteer is one too many. Because in this day and age, customers are empowered as never before: One unhappy person can spread his message around the globe instantly via a blog or forum that may be read by millions. Worse, though, an unhappy visitor is a blow to the hospitality that our parents and their parents, and countless generations before them, offered selflessly to visitors. An act against a tourist is an insult to our heritage and ourselves. That is why we were very happy to hear the comments by officials, including the tourism minister, that profiteers will be caught and punished. But we were also pleased to discover – through the comments of tourists and tour operators – that many, many people are happy with what they find in Greece. Every person who works to make our visitors happy is doing a service to Greece. Everyone who tries to fleece tourists thinks he is working for his own benefit. But he is not, because his irresponsible behavior harms Greece and harms the tourism industry which supports him himself and the national economy. Greece is fortunate in that there is a growing awareness that our greatest assets can still be saved. There is still time to prevent the mindless development that is destroying some of the most beautiful parts of the country. There is still time to crush the unscrupulous individuals who want to profit at everyone else’s expense. What people are beginning to understand is that we can’t expect visitors to come to a country that we ourselves are destroying. And we can’t expect them to sing Greece’s praises when they go home if they have fallen victim to rogues. The best way to protect our country’s environment and our reputation as a destination for high-quality tourism is if every permanent resident and every visitor knows his or her rights and exercises them to the full. This is one clear instance where protecting our personal rights is our country’s best defense.

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