Greek tourist slump brings soaring prices

Thousands of tourists in Greece say their holidays have been spoiled by inflated prices and massive profiteering as Greeks try to make up for the slump in summer visitors.

Amid reports of 200% mark-ups on some goods, the country's institute of consumer protection (INKA) has been inundated with complaints from foreigners and Greeks alike. This year, British tourists top the league tables of the significantly lower arrivals in Greece.

"Thousands have been calling in to complain about the outrageous prices being demanded in bars, restaurants, mini-markets and gas stations," said Gerasimos Simeronides of INKA.

"I'm afraid to say that it's the popular tourist regions, especially the islands, that appear to be particularly badly hit." By the end of July more than 8,200 people had called to complain about rigged prices - more than last year's total figure.

"In the past we'd get calls mostly about the poor quality of food," said Mr Simeronides. "Now, one after the other, it's angry tourists and Greeks who are telephoning to moan about inflated prices."

In some areas, the price of bottled water has risen from €1 to €2.50, the Greek media said yesterday. Cover charges at tavernas have also shot up.

Nicole Rauh, a French tourist staying on the island of Tinos, said: "We have been coming here for years and have never encountered such brazen theft."

The introduction of the euro was partly to blame, said Giorgos Drakopoulos, of the association of Greek tourist enterprises. "As in the rest of the euro-zone, there was a noticeable increase in prices with the new currency," he said. "The introduction of the euro also made non-euro-zone countries in the Mediterranean much cheaper destinations."

Mr Drakopoulos said arrivals were down by at least 8%, with a drop of as much as 30% in Crete.

Last week, the Greek finance minister appealed to Greeks not to raise prices in a bid to compensate for the drop. "It's bad politics to increase prices in this way," the minister, Nikos Christodoulakis, said. "Let's try to present quality and to avoid price increases in all tourism sectors."