Austerity Vacations?

I read through an article this week....hyping up 'austerity tourism'.  The newest trend in German culture...is austerity.  Most Germans would admit privately....it's been a German trend for a thousand years, and it's no big deal.  Germans have always been frugal with their money.  Yeah, you could say they sometimes do things on the cheap side.....but it's a general tendency to ask for discounts, and buy things only when it's cheaper than usual.

So vacations have now fallen into the austerity bucket.

The emphasis of the article I read was that Greece was finally the biggest target for austerity tourism.  Flights were discounted.  Hotels were cheaper than usual.  Package deals were the cheapest in ten years.  All of this was an invitation for a German to plan a austerity vacation.

An American would look at this whole thing and ask what exactly does austerity mean?  It's an easy comparison.....after all....we Americans end up looking for discount hotels options as we travel.  We tend to stop at cheaper restaurants (IHOP, the Waffle House, and Arbys), as we progress across the country.  We look for a airline special, or some discounted travel packages, and generally expect to save a nickel and dime where we can.  Germans tend to do the same thing.

As for a German falling for the Greek discounted deals?  Well....there's this little issue of the 'Nazi-image' that the Greeks pulled out during their economic downfall.  Some Germans took this to be harsh language and might be a bit hostile over making a trip to Greece.  Whether this episode is overlooked and austerity planning kicks into play, it's hard to say.

The bottom line?  If all else fails on austerity vacation planning, there's always the option of spending two weeks in Bavaria.  It's best not to suggest this to any German though....it's a disappointing thing to accept Bavaria as the fall back position.