Greece plans to start holiday season in July, tourists will be allowed on tests for coronavirus

Minister of Tourism Greece Haris Teoharis asks the tourist business not to despair and prepare for the tourist season – the country will be able to start receiving tourists by July, and the authorities intend to extend the season at least until October-November to return the current losses.

But the situation with Greek hotels is quite complicated – up to 65% can go bankrupt due to a critical drop in profits due to the lack of tourists.

The country managed to do without a serious outbreak of the coronavirus - as of April 22, 2,401 cases of infection were detected in Greece (less than in Moldova and in neighboring Turkey, where there are now 95,000 cases).

Over time, the demand for holidays in Greece will grow, because the confidence of tourists in the safety of our country is also growing. The cancellation of hotel reservations for the second half of the summer has already stopped.”

He stressed that he will hold a meeting with local tour operators to discuss measures to protect the health of tourists after the resumption of tourism. Greece is proposing the introduction of "health passports" for tourists to be screened for coronavirus before departure.

The main task is to ensure that these tests are reliable and do not take much time. What both tourists and tour operators are waiting for is for us all to agree on health procedures and announce a clear timetable so we can start opening hotels.

Consultations are underway in the EU to develop a way to give every European citizen the opportunity to pass a reliable test for the virus.

The minister believes that in 2020 tourism will fall by 50%. Greece does not expect tourists from countries outside Europe. There is no information about Russia.

Source: tourprom