Athens - Tourists visiting Greece face a hike in restaurant and hotel bills under plans being considered to solve the country’s debt crisis.
The cost of enjoying a meal and drinks could soar as Greece looks to double some taxes to appease its creditors.
Hopes are rising that the Greeks will strike a deal with lenders to prevent bankruptcy and crashing out of the euro.
The Athens government needs to agree reforms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission before it can receive the latest 7.2billion euros of bailout funds. Without the money Greece will be unable to make a 1.5-billion euro payment due to the IMF.
The Greeks have put forward plans for higher taxes and spending cuts including doubling tax on accommodation to 13 percent and removing a 30 percent VAT discount on some islands.
Officials are negotiating the possibility of going further by hiking sales tax on food in restaurants from 13 percent to 23 percent.
Greek restaurateurs warned the tax rise would be a “kiss of death” while hoteliers described the plans as the “premeditated murder of tourism”. A spokesperson for the Arcadia Hotels Association said any increase would “inevitably lead to the certain decline of Greece’s only productive industry”.
Daily Mail