Greece draws fans from Balkan region
Sixteen years after the fall of communism, the image of the Balkans has changed drastically. National economies might not have fully developed, but certainly these states have come a long way since the first difficult years of the early 1990s. The difference mainly lies in the prevailing atmosphere in these states today. Fear and a depressing grayness are steadily giving way to a more colorful and open social environment that is blooming into happiness. Cultural exchanges are now the product of a civil society. Rising living standards that have allowed for more and more tourism, consumerism and entertainment, not to mention mass migration, have enabled people of the Balkans to come into closer contact with Greeks and to have a positive image of Greece. Even if the state has not done as much as it should have to that end, Greece is attractive on nearly all levels for its neighbors – and not only Athens and Thessaloniki. (Thessaloniki is especially popular with Bulgarians, Slav-Macedonians, Albanians and Serbs. Ioannina and other major towns in northern Greece are also alluring. Greece’s political role in the region and its important economic presence aren’t the only reasons the country is a major draw. The country is also magnetic on a cultural level. For instance, Greek songs are intensely popular in the Balkans. The entire spectrum of the Greek record industry has its own enthusiastic following. Naturally, the mass entertainment typical of Greek nightlife has also taken hold, with Greek nightclubs abounding in every major Balkan city. This interesting development is of wider importance for Greece’s image in the region, perhaps even more than pretentious political and diplomatic initiatives.
