Greece prepares to welcome international travellers from June 15

The safety of tourists is a top priority for Greece as it reopens its airports to foreign visitors, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said. He was on a visit to the popular holiday island of Santorini.

International flights to and from the country’s main airports will resume on June 15, after a nearly three-month lockdown. Accounting for about 20% of Greece’s economic output, tourism is vital for the Mediterranean nation, which emerged from a decade-long debt crisis in 2018.

“It is a great pleasure to be here in Santorini… to send a message: Greece is ready to welcome tourists this summer by putting their safety and their health as a number one priority,” Mitsotakis said, as reported by news agency Reuters.

Famous for its sunsets and black sandy beaches, the volcanic island draws millions of tourists each year.

The country will conduct coronavirus tests on all visitors arriving from airports deemed high-risk by the European Union’s aviation safety agency EASA from Monday. Visitors will be quarantined up to 14 days, depending on the test result. Passengers arriving from all other airports will be randomly tested. 

Restrictions on movement imposed in March helped Greece contain the spread of COVID-19 infections to just above 3,000 cases, a relatively low number compared with elsewhere in the European Union, Reuters said. But it brought its business and tourism sector to a virtual standstill and the country now expects its economy to shrink by up to 13% this year.

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