Europe

Greece comes up with health protocol to aid tourism

Greece santorini

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.

“In any case, Greece is considering bilateral agreements, especially with countries outside the EU, for which announcements will be made soon,” he said.

“Of course, no one knows what their numbers (international tourists) will be… and this year will not be the same as the previous,” Petsas said, underlining that it important for Greece to try to have an extended tourism season and also prepare for next year.

When asked if the government was considering to lift restrictions for travel to Greek islands and reopening restaurants, Petsas said that these are under constant evaluation.