by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- As the ports of Attica were packed on Tuesday by holiday makers who were heading for the Aegean islands ahead of the Christian holiday on Wednesday marking the Assumption of Virgin Mary, statistics show four in 10 Greeks still can not afford vacations.

Dozens of ferries were scheduled to leave from Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio ports, according to an e-mailed Shipping ministry press release.

On Monday over 30,000 passengers left from the three ports.

Although many Greeks take their summer leave ahead of the Aug. 15 holiday, after eight years of austerity, four in 10 can not afford to go on vacations.

The debt laden country is exiting the bailouts era on Aug. 20 this year, but most Greeks try to spend as little as possible opting for a few days at relatives' and friends' homes in the countryside, according to the Greek statistical authority (ELSTAT).

The 65.8 percent of Greeks did so in 2017 to avoid accommodation costs, according to the ELSTAT survey, and the image does not seem to have changed a lot this year.

Over 50 percent of Greek households can not afford even one week's holiday, according to ELSTAT.