Ideas abound for how to move Greece away from a focus on "sun and sand" holidays into higher-value areas like cruising and yachting.Some even think that tourism could be one of the very few industries to benefit from a Greek exit, as a weaker drachma sends prices falling and strengthens the purchasing power of visitors.
"It used to be basically your sun-and-sand holiday," said Diane Redfern, founder of Connecting: Solo Travel Network (www.cstn.org), who has been tracking solo vacation alternatives since 1990 through a bimonthly newsletter ($35 a year or $50 for life).
· Pontins Camber Sands Holiday Centre, Rye, Fri 9 to May 11 Silver Jews, on tour Smart Alec?
Best for families: The Sands Holiday Centre This 55-acre family oasis in the remote West Highlands enjoys a scenic locale tucked between sand dunes and a sweeping Atlantic beach, with views of the legendary Isle of Skye.
Here we all are, they seem to be saying, in our hut, on the sand, on holiday – our souls (if not quite our bodies) at liberty for the day.
And when you've had enough saltwater and sand this holiday weekend, it's time to retreat to the comfort of darkness with one or more of the excellent DVD box sets that have come out in the last few months.
Whether it's historic churches, out of the way bistros or good, old-fashioned sun, sea and sand, most holidays are all about the pursuit of pleasure.
Or it may have occurred to him after seeing someone buried in sand on a holiday beach; or, more macabrely, as a form of punishment used in medieval torture; or in more modern times (reputedly at least) by the French Foreign Legion.
The hotel will direct you to the nearest stretch of coast including the pristine curve of Camber Sands, which it poetically describes as the "most 'beachy' type of beach there is in England, with its vast expanse of proper holiday sand".
Now that really would be revolutionary - and all thanks to the potential locked away in the sand of your holiday beach.
