Greece has a service based economy and is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Following the entry to the European Union in 1980 and the Euro Area in 2000, the Greek economy had been recording high rates of growth. Yet, as this expansion had been fueled mainly by the access to cheap credit and growth of public sector, in 2008 the budget deficit and sovereign debt reached unsustainable levels. As a result, Greece faced the worst crisis since 1974 and tough reforms enforced by the IMF and the European Commission as part of the bailout programme are taking place.