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PIGS: That's Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Those are the countries in Europe where government debt was creating pressure on the Euro. Greece was the worst off of those countries, and the rest of Europe agreed to bail it out – if the government there would put some austerity measures in place. The resulting political climate in Greece is starting to have an impact on tourism.
MSNBC is among a number of sources that have been reporting on the unrest in Greece since the austerity measures were put into place. Travelers to Greece may encounter strikes, closed roads, and even a blockade of Piraeus – the main port where cruise ships dock in Greece.
The Greek government has cut salaries and reduced the pensions of many workers in the country. Unions are not taking kindly to the actions. It's hard to imagine scenes in Europe like the unrest in Bangkok earlier this year. But so far about 20,000 overnight hotel rooms have been freed up by people cancelling their reservations in Greece for this summer…