DC09 Posted July 21, 2004 #1 Share Posted July 21, 2004 AP) - The Athens Games were supposed to make this ancient land a top tourist destination. But with just three weeks left before the opening ceremonies, the figures are hardly encouraging. More than half the tickets for the games remain unsold, tour operators are reporting sluggish bookings and up to 6,000 of Athens' 62,000 hotel rooms are still up for grabs despite earlier fears of a serious accommodation shortage. In fact, fewer tourists are expected in Greece this summer compared to last year. "Generally, it looks like this year we will have less people," George Drakopoulos, head of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, told The Associated Press. He said some parts of Greece have seen a 10 to 15 percent drop in bookings. Tourism is a vital industry in Greece, where island vacations at beach resorts and visits to archaeological monuments bring in 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Last year, Greece attracted about 12 million visitors, 85 percent of them from Britain and Germany. Olympic construction delays and the threat of terrorism have hurt bookings. Evidently, many tourists are not comforted by the record $1.2 billion being spent on protecting the Aug. 13-29 games. "Athens is as safe a place as it can be," said Harry Coccossis, head of Greece's National Tourism Organization. Full Article Lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellar Posted July 21, 2004 #2 Share Posted July 21, 2004 What do you think the reason for this is? Lack of interest? Fear of terrorism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaky6 Posted July 21, 2004 #3 Share Posted July 21, 2004 i think people just fear that everything isn't going to work out and that the olympics will not be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffybunny Posted July 21, 2004 #4 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I went to the 1984 Olymipcs in Los Angeles, it was incredible. Pretty much everything was sold out right away when the tickets went on sale. I ended up seeing Greco-Roman wrestling. I had no idea what was going on. why in the heck would you wrestle if you cant grab your opponent below the waist for a takedown? Worse yet there was not a single piledriver. Hulk Hogan wasn't even there... Anywho, I wouldn't want to go to these olympics. It is so expensive to get to Greece right now, lodging is equally outragous, and there is the whole terrorism issue to be concerned about. I generally don't worry too much about it when I am flying or travelling, but I am concerned about this one...I hope I am wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatAstrofix Posted July 21, 2004 #5 Share Posted July 21, 2004 This issue seems to have some variation from country to country. Yesterday in TV news they reported that all the tickets that were on market in Finland were sold out. Same thing was said about the tickets all together for any final-event. Going to Greece now is incredibly expencive!!! 4-5 day trip including hotel and flights costs about 2500 euros!!!! UNBELIVEABLE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted July 21, 2004 #6 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I ended up seeing Greco-Roman wrestling. I had no idea what was going on. why in the heck would you wrestle if you cant grab your opponent below the waist for a takedown? Worse yet there was not a single piledriver. Hulk Hogan wasn't even there... Its cause the wrestling in the Olympics is Amatuer wrestler, and quite real. Hulk Hogan is Pro-Wrestling as is a performance art and rigged. Plus, Hogan sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AztecInca Posted July 22, 2004 #7 Share Posted July 22, 2004 (edited) Well if you now check the ticket advertisements all the places selling tickets you will see that in small print thats it says," no gurantee of seat existing now or when the olympics start and that the facility may not be completed intime for the olympics but we can gurantee a stray dog carcass for you and your family and a euro champions t-shirt with greece on it" Lol just joking.....or am I?!!!!!?!?! Edited July 22, 2004 by AztecInca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dowdy Posted July 22, 2004 #8 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Among other things, i bet transport will ruin the experience for tourists there. Half the roads aren't even completed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterix Posted July 22, 2004 #9 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Among other things, i bet transport will ruin the experience for tourists there. Half the roads aren't even completed Not true. All roads are completed, and also the Athens Tram started to work 1-2 days ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now