Tag: Greece tourism

Greece’s Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis has said the country is trying to do everything possible to ensure that the country remains an attractive tourist destination with a low rate of coronavirus infections. Talking to BBC Radio he said that the country’s measures to control the pandemic has proved to be successful. “We’re taking specific targeted measures where we see specific concentrations of cases,” Theocharis told Radio 4’s “Today” program. He went on to note that coronavirus cases in Greece remain far below the European Union average in proportional terms and the UK threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 residents per week, ... Read more

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that the state would be supporting tourism sector employees who have been affected by the pandemic by protecting as many jobs as possible. Speaking at a meeting with Rhodes tourism professionals, Mitsotakis committed to provide for tourism sector employees, particularly seasonal staff in the “hard winter ahead”, to preserve as many jobs as possible, and to protect income “until the next tourist season, which I want to believe, I am almost certain, will be very different”, he said. The prime minister added that seasonal enterprises, those that generate over 50% of their turnover in the summer will be ... Read more

Within 24 hours of the flight ban being lifted on Wednesday, around 1,200 Britons had landed in Greece. By Friday, a reported 200 planes had flown from the UK to the country’s 18 regional airports, according to a report by The Guardian. “Today, we can’t wait to have them,” said Charalambos Varvarigos, the vice-mayor of Laganas, the Zakynthian resort often associated with youthful hedonism. “We have always had a big soft spot for the English. Only 60% of our hotels are open but they are beginning to come,” he said. Britons are Greece’s most lucrative European market, with more than ... Read more

Greece’s Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) have launched a new campaign that focuses on the restart of Greek tourism, promoting the country as a safe destination. Titled“Destination Greece Health First”, the campaign will promote the country to markets abroad. It includes a video that features distinctive images of Greece and informs potential travellers that the country has undertaken all the necessary health protocols to ensure safe carefree holidays to its visitors. The video also introduces potential visitors to the “Greece Health First” microsite, where they can find information on everything they need to know about the health ... Read more

Greek tourism is off to a great start. More than 230 flights landed in Greece on Wednesday, as the country reopened to tourists after four months of lockdown. According to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Administration (HCAA), Athens and Crete’s Heraklion airports had the most arrivals with 69 and 54 respectively, followed by Thessaloniki (23), Corfu (21), Chania (16), Rhodes (14), Mykonos (10), Kos (eight), Santorini (four), Skiathos, Aktio, Kefalonia, Samos (two each), and lastly, Kalamata Paros, and Karpathos (one each). Heraklion airport welcomed its first full flight from Hannover with live traditional Cretan music, Greek Travel Pages (GTP) reported. The island is expecting some ... Read more

Greece will not be accepting direct flights from the UK and Sweden until July 15, it was announced on Monday. The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ahead of Greece reopening airports to international flights on Wednesday, July 1. Regarding which non-European Union travellers will be allowed entry as of July 1, Greece intends to follow the list expected to be released soon by European officials, a statement by the PM’s press office said. The list will include the countries whose travellers will be allowed in when the EU’s external borders are reopened on July 1, Greek ... Read more

Greek tourism minister Haris Theoharis has said the ministry has made accessibility for people with disabilities in tourism a priority issue. For the first time the tourism ministry will establish an accessible tourism committee, where the goal is to map out all problems relating to accessibility issues in tourist accommodation, cultural spaces, etc, news agency AP has reported. The minister also noted that the tourism ministry is cooperating with the digital policy ministry on the creation of a website with information on accessible accommodation in Greece and any services that are useful for people with disabilities. Addressing entrepreneurs who have ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Greece has opened its hotels, thereby kick-starting its tourism sector chained by weeks of lockdown. The hotels opened yesterday, June 1, with strict safety regulations in place. Business remained quiet because international flights from its main airports will only start from June 15. With borders remaining shut in key tourism markets, some hotels have decided to reopen later, due to low reservations. Following are a number of new rules that must be followed by all hotels in Greece, according to the government decision. – All hotel employees (including interns) must wear a face mask (surgical or cloth) and disposable gloves. ... Read more

The Greek digital governance ministry has announced that it would be increasing its cash rebate for film produced and shot in Greece, to 40%. The plan is to enhance the country’s position as an attractive filming destination and bring in investors. The decision was announced during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. On the initiative of the National Center of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME), Greece is following the example of 30 European countries, including France, the UK, Spain and Italy, offering incentives to producers and investors to film on location. Besides the rebate increase, the new ... Read more

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, ... Read more

Indian tourist arrivals to Greece has more than doubled to 38,046 in the first nine months of the current calendar year. Around 17,376 Indian tourists visited Greece in the same period of 2017, according to a data by Greece National Tourist Office (GNTO) and Athens International Airport. “Greece as a destination has gained momentum over the years and we are glad to witness the rising interest of Indians for Greece as a popular holiday destination across the country. Our approach is to target the captive audience across various age groups simply by appealing to every kind of travel need,” said Konstantinos ... Read more

Tourist arrivals in Greece jumped 22.3 per cent in June compared with the same period last year, with tourism revenues rising 16 per cent, Bank of Greece (BoG) data on the current account surplus released Monday show. In the first half of the year, tourist arrivals and revenues rose 19.1 per cent and 18.9 per cent respectively, against the first six months of 2017. Tourism revenues increased to 2.33 billion euros in June from 2 billion in the same month of 2017. Greece’s current account balance showed a smaller surplus in June compared to the same month of 2017 on ... Read more

Greece is gearing up for the world’s most prominent shipping exhibition, ‘Posidonia 2018’. The event which will be conducted from June 4th-8th at the Athens Metropolitan Expo is expected to bring around 20,000 visitors to the country. Conferences, seminars, workshops and interesting panel discussions will be conducted as part of the exhibition. The events are projected to shape the global shipping agenda and outline the future of the industry that sits at the core of world economic developments. Posidonia is ready to host around 1,960 exhibitors from 91 countries which include professionals from a wide range of maritime industry sectors. The exhibition ... Read more

Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) has launched a new digital campaign on www.axiagiaolous.gr, which will highlight the value of the country’s tourism in accordance with employment, revenue, growth and social cohesion. The campaign is marketed under the slogan ‘Tourism: Value for All’. The campaign driven by social media aims at spreading the impact of tourism across all regions and every aspect of society. The campaign under the tag #kiomos , which means ‘yes, indeed’ in Greek, will bring in 12 real-life professionals who are involved directly or indirectly in tourism sector, which includes a chef, a mechanic, a theater clerk, a salesperson, a ... Read more