After Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a surprise referendum for July 5, Greeks are facing an intense campaign against the backdrop of an economy going into deep freeze.
The government’s decision to call a referendum,has taken its toll on Greece's economy which is now back in recession.
In an interview with major Greek daily Kathimerini Andreas Andreadis, the head of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE), said that hotel bookings are down 50,000 a day due to the recent developments in the country. Given that last-minute bookings account for 20 percent of the year’s tourism traffic, the blow is expected to be severe for Greek tourism, with knock-on effects on employment if those bookings are lost for good.
Furthermore, there is a growing wave of cancellations at Athens hotels, while bookings from Greeks have dropped to almost zero, Kathimerini reports.
Export orders also declined. According to estimates by the Panhellenic Exporters Association (PSE), within the next fortnight exports will drop by about 7% and imports by 28%.
In an interview with CNBC Anastasios Economou, founder of international investment holding company iGroup, said that the capital controls are just the tip of the iceberg, “Greece's businesses are already finding it difficult to purchase products and have started turning down credit cards, and shortages of critical goods may come next” Economou said.