The Greeks that are building the next generation of tourism businesses
Photo Credit: Pedestrians in Corfu, Greece. Flickr / Richard Martin
Skift Take
Economic collapse is never easy, but there is opportunity in the ruin, and these inspiring stories demonstrate how Greek entrepreneurs are ready to lead the way.
Recession is regarded as the worst time to start a business, but austerity is actually inspiring some Greeks to launch tourism initiatives – going against accepted business wisdom.
Residents of the islands have a reputation for being adept multi-taskers – working as tourism operators, agriculturalists, builders and service sector workers according to the season. Here in particular some are seizing on the crisis as an opportunity to make dramatic career changes; launch ventures that might never have been attempted before; and, just possibly, break the old model of passive mass-market package tourism. Here are some examples
What's the best thing to do for Corfu? Go shopping
Alex and Christina Christou left the northern city of Thessaloniki in 2006 for the island of Corfu, and moved to Alex's birthplace, Arillas, on its north-east coast, in 2009. "We saw the crisis coming and were looking for a safe place," says Alex. A chemistry graduate from Utrecht University in the Netherland
