THE Greek economic drama is continuing to unfold, with news out on limits being placed on ATM withdrawals and bank tranfers, and retailers rejecting payments by credit cards, but travel specialists in Singapore and Malaysia that retail tours to Greece have declared that business is on as usual.
Robin Yap, president of The Travel Corporation Asia, which has several global travel brands under its belt including Insight Vacations, Trafalgar and Uniworld River Cruise Collection, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company has not received any cancellations on Greece-bound programmes across all its brands.
“We have a group that just returned and they found the destination to be most enjoyable,” said Yap.
The Travel Corporation has also sought to reassure its clients through a travel advisory that went up on its website on July 7. It announced that “the destination is very much open for business” and that all its guided programmes to Greece are functioning as planned.
The statement also pointed out that issues related to currency access “are relevant only to local residents and are not impacting international visitors”.
Dynasty Travel Singapore’s director of marketing communications, Alicia Seah, also reported zero impact.
“The peak season for tours to Greece runs from April to October. We will have another 250 travellers to Greece over the next three months,” said Seah.
That said, Dynasty Travel is keeping a close watch on travel advisories issued by relevant ministries and advises its travellers to “bring sufficient cash as we anticipate that some small shops may not accept credit card payments at this juncture”.
Singapore’s Chan Brothers Travel has also not seen any cancellation or postponement, shared spokesperson Rebecca Chia.
“We have one group departing in mid-July although new enquiries for Greece will (slow down by now) as its peak holiday season is almost coming to an end,” Chia said.
Over in Malaysia, travel specialists say demand for the historical destination is still strong.
Holiday Tours is maintaining weekly departures to Greece, while Parlo Tours will have two departures this month.
Parlo Tours general manager, Kerry Tam, said there have been no cancellations, and operators in Greece are providing support and updates.
“So far, there is no problem,” Tam remarked, adding that the company has also been receiving forward bookings for the September school holidays.
Additional reporting from S Puvaneswary
