With crisis at home, greek-americans to economic rescue?

Larisa Antypa was ready for her cruise in the Caribbean when news of the economic crisis in Greece, her home country, began to worsen.

Antypa, a program coordinator for the Greek Cultural Center in Astoria, Queens, canceled her trip and decided that she would instead spend her vacation money in Greece.

Like a growing number of her fellow expatriates, Antypa hopes to bolster the teetering Greek economy -- roiled again on Tuesday by a wave of violent protests and a countrywide strike against proposed austerity measures -- through tourism. It accounts for 15% of the country's jobs and 18% of its GDP, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

"I want to support Greece by spending my money there; it's very important when your country's in trouble to do whatever you can," Antypa said. "I ask people why they're going back, why they don't go somewhere else, and they say, 'Now, Greece needs us.' "

Source: Edition.CNN.com