For the past two years, Greece has been used as a punching bag by the news media for its economic mistakes. The general public has come to question whether or not Greece is a safe place to visit.  We cannot defend, nor do we want to debate, the economic mistakes made by the past Greek leadership.  We can only say that these mistakes are no different than several other European countries have made. Blame should be shared equally with the European community/leadership.  We would like to bring some fairness and prospective to the crisis the Greek people are facing.  It is a European crisis, not just in Greece.

Wall Street has used Greece as the “poster child” for poor economics and the reason for the market fluctuations.  This has caused a certain amount of resentment.  By targeting Greece, there is a certain amount of doubt towards visiting Greece and it is not justified, nor is it fair. A rational explanation would be to refer to Europe rather than singling out Greece.   For these reasons, as proud Americans with Greek ancestry, and other Americans, we are asking for your assistance to help bring an honest discussion to the subject.

From BBC News  May 23, 2012,

“Greek workers have had a bad press recently but, as we reported in February, they work longer hours than any other Europeans. Their average of 2,017 hours a year puts them third in the international ranking, based on figures compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)”.

Greeks have been accused of being lazy. Not True,  their passion for life has been misunderstood.
A European tourist said it best:   "Most Europeans live to work,  Greeks work to live"

We want to let the general public know that Greece is a safe place to visit and encourage people to consider Greece as a vacation destination. The Greek people are suffering the worst during this crisis.  If tourism drops, the Greek people will suffer even more. 
We are reaching out to the American/Greek community and all of our American friends to become involved in getting this message out and to help the Greek people during these difficult times. 

Following are some ideas that may help our cause:

• Send emails or letters or even phone calls to any media that reports about Greece unfairly.
• Encourage others to be aware of this issue and ask them to get involved.
• Organize a group in your local community and search for any way possible to get this message out to the news media and the general public.
• Unfortunately, a large number of the Greek/American community has accepted this unfair image of Greece. This message needs to be shared with to the Greek/American community.
• Flyers can be made which make these points, for distribution at your local Greek festival.
• Include this message in your church bulletin.
• Hold a fund raiser and raise money for purchasing local advertising in newspapers or billboards.
• Send out email messages to all of your email contacts, as well as friends on Facebook and Twitter with regards to this issue.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL THE ABOVE SUGGESTIONS SHOULD BE DONE IN A FRIENDLY AND RESPECTFUL MANNER.

We hope that this website can be the beginning of a “grass roots” effort to correct the negative image portrayed of Greece and bring some fairness in the media. Please use various social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to get our message out.

See sample letter "Greece is safe for travel"

If you need assistance and information about traveling to Greece, please check with your local travel agency or go to www.visitgreece.gr (the Greek National Tourist Organization).