Tag: Greece tourism updates

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis has presented a new plan for the promotion of domestic tourism. To start with, there will be an increase in funding of the Greek Manpower Employment Organization’s (OAED) subsidised social tourism programme to 30 million euros. Second is a 10-million-euro tax relief programme for companies, so they in turn can provide holiday coupons to employees. The third is bringing back the ‘Tourism for All’ programme with a 30 million-euro budget, which provides subsidised holidays for the unemployed, pensioners, and others who qualify due to low income. Theoharis noted that some 70 million euros will be ... Read more

Private yachts and boats, catering up to 12 passengers, will be allowed to set sail in Greece, according to a government decision as coronavirus restrictions ease. The government decision allows private yachts and boats to sail to and from the islands, with no restrictions on staying overnight or arriving during late hours, provided they carry up to 12 passengers, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between each other. The easing of restrictions on yachting was also announced last week by Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis when he presented the country’s ‘Restart Tourism” plan. The government has also said restrictions ... Read more

Greece, one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world, has said June 15 will be the official start date of the tourism season. While announcing the date in an address to the nation, the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said the tourist season has been delayed by the global coronavirus pandemic and that direct international flights to the country’s various tourist destinations would resume gradually from July 1. According to a report in The Guardian, holidaymakers from the UK and other countries would not be quarantined but would have to undergo coronavirus tests, the centre-right leader said in ... Read more

Eurobank will make available a fund of $821 million (750 million Euros) to help Greek hotels and support tourism, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. The revival of the tourism sector, which employs about one in five Greeks, is viewed as central to lessening the impact of an expected deep recession, with the European Commission estimating Greece’s economy may contract by 9.7% this year. “Eurobank is the bank of Greek tourism, we are there not only for the sunny days,” Eurobank’s CEO Fokion Karavias said. “Supporting the hotels sector, the heart of the tourism industry, is important ... Read more

Greece is getting ready to present its overall plan for reviving tourism in the post Covid-19 era. This will commence with the announcement of the health protocols for safe operation of air, ferry and road transport in Greece, government spokesman Stelios Petsas has said. The government is drawing up a plan to deal with the impact of coronavirus pandemic, aiming to cushion, as much as possible, the “inevitably large” losses expected for this year’s tourism season. Petsas said the goal was to make the most of the “new common framework” with the guidelines and recommendations presented by the European Commission. ... Read more

Greece’s premier vacation island, Santorini, may acquire a new look soon. While preparing to open up for a post COVID-19 summer tourism season with increased hygiene standards, resorts and bars in Santorini may have a new guest in the form of plexiglass screens. A Santorini bar owner has already taken an independent step when he surrounded the bar’s beachside lounge chairs with plexiglass screens for increased protection, Reuters reported. Demilmar, the famous bar located at Santorini’s famous black sand beach of Perissa, came up with the idea to encase lounge chairs in plexiglass. The bar management said it didn’t want ... Read more

Greece is looking to reopen the country to tourists from July onwards, as it looks to kick-start its economy again after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism accounts for up to 12% of Greece’s GDP, with revenues of $20 billion in 2019. Greece went under lockdown on March 23 and is looking to lift restrictions from Monday, while hotels will be allowed to reopen on June 1. Greece is regarded as one of the most preferred travel destinations in the world. “We do want people to come to Greece,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said in an interview with ... Read more