Where are the world’s loveliest islands, according to the readers of one of the most prestigious travel magazines? The Greek Islands, of course. The Greek Islands scored the top billing in the magazine’s annual list, followed by the Balearic Islands, the Maldives, the Hawaiian Islands and Bali. See the complete list of the magazine’s top 20 islands here.
The ranking is sure to help the current wave of travel to Greece, despite the country’s economic crisis and the stripping of a special lower tax status that several Greek island destinations enjoyed to help boost tourism.
The repealing of the lower value added tax (VAT) was one of the conditions imposed by the European lenders.
“It is clear that this development is a political necessity (and not a choice) which derives from the agreement with the institutions, and is a basic step to proceed with the review and the following steps,” the Greek finance ministry said in a statement.
Photo from Maria Paradisis’ blog Where in the World is Paradise, Pano Koufonisia islands.