Greece to welcome tourists from June 15, from select countries

Greece will reopen to visitors from June 15, just days before its peak tourism season starts.

Visitors from 29 countries will be allowed, during the first phase. These countries are Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Israel, Switzerland, Japan, Malta, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Hungary, South Korea, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Finland.

Visitors will be randomly tested, the tourism ministry said, and the government would monitor and evaluate developments related to the coronavirus. The list will be updated before July 1, the tourism ministry said.

The Mediterranean nation, which emerged from a decade-long debt crisis in late 2018, relies heavily on tourism – about 20% of its output – for an economic recovery, Reuters said.

A nationwide lockdown imposed in March helped Greece contain the spread of COVID-19 infections to just below 3,000 cases, a relatively low number compared with elsewhere in the European Union. But it brought its business and tourism sector to a virtual standstill.

About 33 million tourists visited Greece last year, generating revenues of 19 billion euros.