Yes, it's been a few weeks since I gave an update of what's happening here in Corfu. The tourists are here now, enjoying the sun and the beaches. The mix has changed considerably in the last couple of years, most visible tourists in our area now coming from Russia and Eastern European countries reflecting the rise in their fortunes and the decline in the traditional British and Italian fortunes!
They're all welcome as Corfu needs every tourist Euro it can get. A rising and worrying trend is the All-Inclusive holiday where people pay for hotel, food and drinks in advance and as long as they stay in their hotels around the pool, they can eat and drink themselves senseless on terrible food and the cheapest hooch. The local tavernas and bars see little or none of their business as these "tourists" come with almost empty pockets.
BUT, many of the Eastern Europeans seem to be giving their trade to the local businesses, the restaurants and car rental companies advertise their menus and price lists in Russian, Serbian, Polish and a few other languages in addition to the more traditional English and Italian.
The ferries are still running, the planes arriving and the buses taking them all to their hotels pass us in droves at times, so it can't all be bad in this economic climate.....
It can't be much of a holiday if they don't get out and see the town.
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