Greece will open its gates to tourists from May. Anyone who has tested negative for the coronavirus, has been vaccinated or has already had the disease is welcome. The Greek Tourism Minister said this on Thursday.
The country is highly dependent on tourism financially. In 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, tourism generated Greece 18 billion euros in revenue. Last year that fell to 4 billion euros.
The Greek economy, which has been squeaking and creaking for years, shrank by more than 8 percent in 2020. One fifth of the economy depends on what holidaymakers spend there.
The Greek government led the call in the EU for a joint digital vaccination passport. But the Greeks do not want to wait for that. “People who have been vaccinated, tested negative or have recovered from the disease and have antibodies are welcome in Greece. We will welcome them whether or not there is an agreement,” said the minister.
Last year, 7.4 million foreign tourists visited the Greek mainland or islands. A year earlier it was still 31.3 million. “We will have a better year this year than last year”, the minister expects. But the bookings are not going in the right direction yet.
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