Good News and Bad News from Greece
Greece is a country whose name has continued to surface in news headlines for the past decade for a number of reasons. Greece has been in a tumultuous situation since the global financial crisis hit her shores. The country has continued to struggle financially on the regional and international stage, having to rely on loan packages, referred to as “bail-outs” to keep the economy running.
The country also had to go through several strict economic policy changes which resulted in many losing their businesses and jobs, increasing unemployment and poverty in Greece. The resilient approach of the people and the continuous support of the European and international financial structures have brought Greece out of recession. The financial assistance of these bodies has helped Greece out of recession but come at a huge economic cost. According to reports, the debt of Greece cannot be paid in full in the next forty years. This gives an idea of the murky situation the country is in.
Another aspect of Greece in the news for all the wrong reasons at the moment is the migration crisis. Greece and all its immigration agencies are currently grappling with the migration crisis which has hit most cities. The internal migration directly results from the effects of the global financial crisis on the Greek economy. The most affected areas which have been de-populated are rural and without any major tourism footprint.
This has forced a great number of people to move into areas where there seems to be more chances of gaining employment from tourism and the other sectors of the economy that still reap benefits despite the financial crisis taking hold of the economy by the jugular. The only way the effects of the migration issue will quickly reduce is when the other sectors of the economy which was badly hit by the recession start coming back to normalcy.
Despite the bad news coming from Greece on the economic front, there are also reports of good things taking place in Greece. The latest news from Greece reveals that the tourism sector has continued to outfox the harmful effects of the financial crisis which had other sectors of the economy on their knees. The good news from Greece is emanating from the tourism sector. The sector has continued to thrive despite the downturn of other “main” sectors of the economy.
Greece is blessed with numerous exotic island and mainland tourist destinations that continue to bring in a lot of returns and positively stimulates the economy of Greece. Greece has continued to see constant development in tourism over the last five decades and this sector has continued to help the economy in job creation and fostering rapid economic growth. In mid-2018 through to 2019, the tourism industry of Greece has constantly brought in at least two and a half billion euros as travel service balances. These have greatly helped in easing the effects of the recession period, especially in cities that have multiple tourist destinations.
Also, more good news coming from Greece show that the tourist base from other nations to Greece has continued to increase all through the recession period to this present day. Cruise ship arrivals have continued to skyrocketed, tourism infrastructure development has also continued to increase; and many world-renowned travel agencies rate Greece as one of the best destinations for you to spend a holiday.
Also, for more good news from Greece, you should know that their unemployment indices are now dropping significantly since the turn of the year. The growth of other sectors alongside many unemployed Greeks moving into the informal sector has helped in reducing unemployment and creating a sustainable stream of income for the Greek people.
Conclusion
Greece, just like any other nation has its challenges. These challenges will be solved with time if the government continues to adopt a conscientious approach to handling the damage the global financial crisis brought to the doorstep of Greece. Greece has shown that it can respond to challenges and create positive results from difficult situations.
