Beach on a budget: Greeks settle for day trips, priced out of iconic destinations

By DEREK GATOPOULOS PORTO RAFTI Greece AP Bus coupon in hand Diamantoula Vassiliou headed for the sea determined to make the largest part of her brief beach excursion Related Articles New eGates at US airports promise faster screening under Trump s vision Pennsylvania s Chautauqua is a summertime haven for lifelong learners Southwest Airlines new approach will affect plus-size travelers Here s how Advance Plan a getaway in Colorado wine country Turn a trip to the US Open into a grand slam escape with this encounter plan The Athens resident was among thousands who took a four-hour tour this month to Avlaki Beach one hour north of Greece s capital a multitude of hauling plastic coolers and homemade lunches the accoutrements of summer holidays in leaner times We come here because there s no money mentioned Vassiliou for whom day trips have replaced weeklong vacations for four years Greece s tourism industry is booming and the crystalline waters along its vast rugged coast have transformed the nation into a source of envy-inducing Instagram posts Foreign arrivals this year are expected to be up to four times the country s population of million according to industry estimates matching details But a great number of Greeks are watching from the sidelines the effect of both surging prices and slow wage expansion According to European Union facts almost half of Greeks were unable to afford a one-week holiday last year the second-highest rate in the bloc after Romania This compares with about one in three for Italy and one in five for France and represents only a modest improvement from the year after Greece s crippling financial dilemma ended Luxury resorts have crowded out the budget guesthouses and campsites that once made pricey destinations like Santorini Mykonos and Paros accessible to Greek families Tourism is the bedrock of Greece s market system directly supplying around of the country s output But as businesses increasingly cater to foreign visitors countless no longer close during the summer preventing local workers from taking a break People arrive by bus at Avlaki beach about kilometers miles east of Athens Greece Wednesday Aug AP Photo Thanassis Stavrakis People arrive by bus at Avlaki beach about kilometers miles east of Athens Greece Wednesday Aug AP Photo Thanassis Stavrakis A woman applies sunscreen to a man at Avlaki beach about kilometers miles east of Athens Greece Thursday Aug AP Photo Thanassis Stavrakis A man borrows a book from a lending library at Avlaki beach about kilometers miles east of Athens Greece Thursday Aug AP Photo Thanassis Stavrakis Show Caption of People arrive by bus at Avlaki beach about kilometers miles east of Athens Greece Wednesday Aug AP Photo Thanassis Stavrakis Expand Among them is Iosif Solanakis who on a windless August afternoon waited at the foot of Athens Acropolis for customers to take a tour on his electric buggy The money I make in the summer has to keep me going in the months when there isn t much work he reported guffawing I only get to sample the sea whenever I can grab a insufficient hours off Concern about holiday poverty a term coined by labor unions is spreading across Europe as rising costs sour summer plans Beachgoers in Italy have taken to social media to complain about soaring prices for a standard umbrella and two lounge chairs the centerpiece of an Italian seaside holiday A spot with a sun lounger at popular beaches along the Italian Riviera can run up to euros a day while luxury spots charge several hundred In Greece numerous are packing their own umbrellas carrying plastic containers of homemade food in scenes reminiscent of the s and relying on buses instead of ferries or flights A six-day island trip for a family of four costs chosen euros in a country where the average monthly income barely tops euros according to Giorgos Lehouritis head of Greece s Consumer Protection Institute Rising rent and utility costs consume almost all of that You have to live on the rest and that s poverty Lehouritis commented Nikos Margaritis a retiree noted on his way to Avlaki that holiday accommodation is out of reach on his tight budget Someone who has worked or years should receive more help he explained I have worked for years Do I deserve something better I do AP writer Colleen Barry contributed from Milan