wish they would just get on with grexit, would solve everyone's problems. just renege on the fucking debt, stick it to germany (they still owe so much for ww2 , remember?), exit the eurozone, start printing your own money, have a nice depression for maybe 6 months and then recover. Iceland did something similar and they are doing fine (they stuck it to us Brits, but we forgive them).
From memory icelanders enjoyed the highest purchasing power in the world before teh crisis (and like the fourth a few years later). Also their country was very expensive and tourism increased tremendously after the Kroner devaluation (it's breathtakingly gorgeous ), also they did cooperate with the IMF. Not quite the same situation and mentality as Greece - again I don't have an opinion on what's best for Greece.
Iceland and Greece are world's apart culturally and attitude wise. I don't think one can compare. I traveled to Iceland before and after the crisis and it was and still is incredibly expensive (food, hotels, fishing licenses, 4wd car rentals, guided treckIng tours,...). But I agree that Iceland is an incredibly beautiful country. And partying in the capital is fun. Like Wellington in New Zealand without the Anglo Saxon angry fight factor when some get drunk.
This is what smart people do in good times: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...-not-enough-hong-kong-launches-rainy-day-fund Admittedly, this is a city state (pardon CCP ;-) not a country but the principle holds.
Difference is Greece is already a cheap country, in my eyes at least it's about as high end a destination as a second hand socks shop. Tourism might increase after devaluation but it shouldn't bring a significant extra money, especially that tourism numbers are already high, and that it's unlikely to attract big spenders.
Sorry, but I disagree. For Americans, for instance, Greece was rather expensive under the Euro for the longest time. Under the Drachma, it'd be awesome. All it would take is a smart tourism advertising campaign, some direct flights to Athens from a variety of major US cities, and viola.
Who viola who ? Volpunter warned you about safety issues in Greece ! it's "Et voila ", or "and voila" if you want, "viola" means "raped" in french ! lol