The Greek government will officially open its borders on 15 June to 29 countries from where it will accept visitors for what is left of the summer season.
In two weeks Greece will start accepting tourists from Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.
The list will further expand on 1 July to include more countries.
“Our aim is to be able to welcome every tourist who has overcome their fear and has the ability to travel to our country,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said on Antenna TV, confirming that travellers from the permitted countries will be able to enter Greece on direct flights to Athens and to the northern city of Thessaloniki.
As much as the lift on bans is welcomed by the majority of the population, many are those who feel that in an ultimate effort to reverse as much of the financial havoc coronavirus wreaked on Greece, the Tourism Ministry could risk a second, unmanageable wave.
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Studies have shown that almost 65 per cent of the nation’s hotels have been pushed into bankruptcy, regressing the country’s already fragile fiscal recovery. As the entire world is under stress, Greece, a country with an economy where one in four jobs rely on tourism is harder hit.
“Forecasts are continuously being revised,” Mr Theoharis told Deutsche Welle (DW). “At this point, any adjustment being made is downward.”
“That means that we are expecting tourism to take a 50 per cent hit this year. And that is the most favourable scenario being put forward in the studies we are conducting.”
“Every week or fortnight that we can salvage is crucial for the industry and the country,” Theoharis says highlighting that 16.4 per cent of the workforce is unemployed.
“We are not going to jeopardise the safety of our population and the measures we took for a quick fix,” Theoharis explained addressing those that fear reopening borders could risk lives.
Greece has credited its low infection rate to enforcing an early lockdown and, as a result, the country has has a total of 175 deaths and just over 2900 confirmed cases; a great success compared to many other countries ensuring that the government is preparing to enforce strict health clearances for incoming travellers once the country moves to open its borders again.
Tourism industry officials predict, however, that it may take as much as 18 months for tourists to come to Greece even if the borders reopen.
Visitors arriving from those countries could be subject to COVID-19 testing, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Australia recorded 11 new cases yesterday, all in Victoria. Today, NSW has confirmed another three and Victoria another four. That brings the national total to 7192, while the death toll stands at 103.
Finally, more than 6 million people have now been infected with COVID-19 globally, and the death toll has passed 368,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.