NATO Strikes - What's the Impact on Travel to Greece?

Dateline: 4/20/99 UPDATE

Previous version of this article: April 7th, 1999
As the crisis in the Balkans continues, the travel picture for the region, including Greece and Italy, is growing clearer.

While there will be some cancellations, most observers expect the percentage to be relatively small.

Greece, in particular, stands to benefit from the likely cancellation of cruise ship stops at Dubrovnik and other ports close to the fighting. Some cruise lines have already announced they are switching from Croatian ports to Greek ones.

Crete and the Greek islands will probably benefit from an increase in tourists, who may forego more in-depth explorations of mainland and northern Greece in favor of the more distant, sunny islands.

Cruise lines, particularly those with itineraries that combine Greek and Black Sea ports, can be expected to be even more than usually willing to wheel and deal.

If you're jittery, buy trip cancellation insurance, but be aware that these policies will not cover "jitters". In short, your fear of traveling to an area is not considered cause to cancel. What most U.S. - based policies will cover are cancellations to areas under State Dep't travel warnings. But check the fine print.