Summer Comeback? Greece Wants Tourists Back From July
Greece, one of the world’s most-loved travel destinations, is looking to reopen to tourists from July as it hopes to restart a pillar of its economy that has been battered by coronavirus restrictions.
Tourists take pictures beside the 2,400-year-old temple of Ifestos in the ancient Agora of Athens, / ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEY FACTS
Tourism accounts for up to 12% of Greece’s GDP, raking in $20 billion (18 billion euros) 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, Reuters reports.
But the southeast European nation is unlikely to witness a busy summer season, as restrictions around movement due to coronavirus keep people away.
Greek tourism minister, Harry Theocharis, told Reuters: “This season is not going to be a season like the other years, I would be a fool to believe that this could ever be the case, however there is a lot that we can do in order to re-open the touristic economy, the touristic flows, and that way we will able to support a lot of those enterprises — the hotels, the travel agents.”
Greece has reported around 2,500 coronavirus cases and 139 deaths.
BIG NUMBER
Greece drew in 33 million tourists in 2018, with two-thirds of visitors coming from other EU countries, according to OECD data.
KEY BACKGROUND
Countries across Europe are starting to reveal their phased plans to ease lockdown, after weeks of businesses being shut, travel being restricted and people told to stay at home. As summer holiday season approaches, this includes plans to slowly reopen the bloc’s tourism sector, which accounts for one tenth of its economic output. But EU member states are understandably cautious about a return to travel, as Europe has seen the largest cluster of countries worst-hit by coronavirus.
Germany has started its gradual reopening process, but hopes of taking a summer holiday in the midst of a pandemic were dashed this week as it extended its warning against international travel to mid-June. Foreign minister Heiko Maas said: “People won’t be able to spend a holiday as they usually know it, on full beaches or in full mountain huts.”
Spain and France do not intend to reopen their beaches until late June, while Austria could begin welcoming tourists from neighbouring Germany soon, after it lifted restrictions at some ski resorts.
TANGENT
Officials in the southern Spanish village of Zahara de los Atunes were forced to apologize this week after spraying a local beach with diluted bleach, ahead of children being allowed to leave their homes for the first time in weeks.
Further reading: When Will You Be Able To Travel To Europe Again? (Forbes)
Why The Middle Seat Could Be Empty When EasyJet Flights Return (Forbes)
European Union tourism factsheet (EU Parliament)
I am a breaking news reporter for Forbes in London, covering Europe and the U.S. Previously I was a news reporter for HuffPost UK, the Press Association and a night
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