by While anti-tourism protests have plagued many of our favorite holiday destinations – particularly in Spain – Brits hoping for a warm welcome this summer should look no further than Greece.
The country where I have lived for 15 years is famous phyllox (love of the stranger), but the British have been treated very well for a long time – ever since, exactly 200 years ago, O Vyronas (better known as Lord Byron) died of malaria in Missolonghi while waiting to join the struggle to free Greece from the Ottomans. Turks. It seems that not even the long-term horror over the Elgin Marbles, nor the long shadow cast by Churchill’s decision to trust the Greek parties in 1944, is capable of the century-old affection that connects the two nations.
“It’s incredible how Greece accepted Byron and still holds her in such high esteem,” says Georgios Papadopoulos, whose family is from near Missolonghi. “There are few other countries that can boast of such a great national hero who do not have their own nationality. That’s one of the reasons we love the British today.”
Like many of today’s travelers, Byron fell in love on his first trip to Greece in 1809, not only with Teresa Makri, the so-called “Maid of Athens”, but with the Greeks themselves, who respected he had a lot of respect for customs and traditions. His death sparked a wave of philanthropy around the world, which helped secure a special place in Greek hearts. In a referendum in 1862, almost 40 years after Byron’s death, 95 percent of Greeks even voted in favor of installing Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, as their monarch, after a rebellion that destroyed the Bavarian King Otto.
The bond was cemented in World War II, when Britain was one of Greece’s closest allies. Even today, if you go into a traditional cafe and mention Patrick Leigh Fermor, the SOE officer who went into hiding in the highlands of Crete while helping to organize the Greek resistance, you’re likely to be given you were invited to toast the memory of a British war hero with a punch. – packing a tumbler of raki.
True, the UK’s reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by fuel-drinking antics in places like Malia and Kavos, but Brit-bashing in Greece is still rare.
“British tourists are still very popular here, and since the Covid pandemic the locals value the British even more,” says English teacher Enid Monica-Robinson from Loughborough, who lives on Skiathos, a ferry hop from. Mamma Mia! the island of Skopelos.
It was telling that even as other countries imposed strict rules on visitors from Britain during the dark days of the pandemic, Greece kept the door open to people coming from the UK.
Furthermore, Greeks, many of whom wanted a “Grexit” after a “no” vote in the 2015 bailout referendum, were generally not sympathetic to Britain’s collective decision to leave the EU. “Wages were reduced to nothing during the economic crisis and pensions were cut by more than half – although grandparents often had to support their whole family because there was so much unemployment,” says Manolis Papadakis, who works in bar in House. Heraklion. “We were angry at the world, so we understood why Britain wanted Brexit.”
Last year, around 4.5 million UK tourists flocked to swim off Greek beaches and support Mythos beer in its pubs. However, while demonstrations are taking place regularly in Mallorca and the Canary Islands, protests against tourists are almost unheard of in Greece. Even during the so-called “Beach Towel Movement” last year, when locals were protesting about beaches being taken away by sunbeds, Greeks praised British tourists for their support. “British visitors understand…
A far cry from recent events in Tenerife and Amsterdam, where Britons were loudly told to “go home” and “stay away”, Greece is even offering 25,000 “free” holidays to those whose stays have been cut short at the wildfires in Rhodes last year. year – more than half of them British. “We want travelers to return to the island to enjoy its natural beauty,” said PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis as he launched Rodos Week, a scheme that gives influential visitors vouchers of up to €500 (£430) by the fire on them.
“Even in Santorini and other over-touristy places you rarely hear a bad word said against the British,” says teacher Eleni Balatsas, who lives in Piraeus. “It’s not a good idea to avoid a certain group of people who have contributed so much to our economy – it’s an unpleasant thing to do.”
Georgios Kaloutsakis, who owns the Abaton Island luxury resort in Crete, agrees. “The Greeks appreciate the great respect that the British have for our culture and civilization,” he said. “Today, the bond is strengthened by the affection King Charles had for Greece, as evidenced by his links to the ‘Flag of Greece’, which inspired great enthusiasm in the Greek media. This mutual understanding fosters a deep and lasting friendship between our nations.”
