The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office has warned holidaymakers to take cash with them if they plan on visiting Greece over the next few months, due to fears of an economic collapse. “The Greek tourist board in London said that while it anticipated no immediate problems, visitors should avoid relying solely on credit cards or local ATMs,” wrote the British newspaper Telegraph in a recent article published on April 27. The British office fears that due to the uncertainty in Greece, the financial institutions do not have money in their funds and therefore cannot provide cash to ATMs. “Travelers should take ‘enough money to cover emergencies and any unexpected delays,’ the Foreign & Commonwealth Office added,” according to Telegraph. Meanwhile, experts recommended that people traveling to Greece should have enough cash with them to last three to five days, apart from their credit and debit cards. Telegraph noted that the Greek economy came close to bankruptcy when the European finance ministers ruled out a “large” rescue program as they had done in 2010 and 2012. In the meantime, negotiations have currently been “frozen,” as SYRIZA refuses to implement further austerity measures. Furthermore, according to economists, if Greece does not receive the emergency funds to cover its summer payments, then the country will be forced to exit the Eurozone. “Bob Atkinson, of Travelsupermarket.com, pointed to the Cyprus bailout in 2013, when banks limited withdrawals and some shops and restaurants were unable to take card payments,” wrote Telegraph. Meanwhile, the GNTO stated: “We don’t anticipate any problems with the banking system in Greece — it’s very much business as usual. We would always advise any holidaymakers to take a mixture of cash, debit and credit cards as they would normally do when they travel to any country.”
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