While a lockdown stays in place in Greece at least through April 27 to slow the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, some hotels ordered closed are looking to reopen in June although it’s unclear whether international air flights will resume, according to thenationalherald.com.
Yiannis Retsos, chief of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) said the plan under consideration would include strict health protocols in the wake of the deadly illness that killed hundreds of thousands so far and hasn’t yet abated.
He noted that his personal expectation at this point, noting that the key markets for tourists for Greece are starting to show some signs the disease is lessening despite the horrific death toll and fright shutting down much of the world.
Those include Israel, Cyprus, the Balkan states, Lebanon and some other Arabic states although the United Kingdom and the United States, two major countries for visitors from Greece, are among the hardest hit in the globe after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump refused to go to lockdowns.
With the summer the most significant period for tourism, the biggest revenue engine in the country and bringing in as much as 18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 184.32 billion euros ($200.3 billion,) he said trying to start in August would be too late for any real impact.
That means most, if not all, seasonal hotels will remain closed this year, cutting deep into owners and state revenues at the same time the New Democracy government is churning out 800-euro ($869.36) to hundreds of thousands of those out of work.
Retsos stressed that worker support measures will need to be expanded, along with additional financing with working capital of 1.5-2 billion euros ($1.63-$2.17 billion,) said Kathimerini.
He argued that any hopes of resuming operation would require a cross-collaboration effort of businesses related to the sector, including air travel and coastal shipping, with ferries to islands also not working for passenger travel.
He called for the abolition of an overnight tax and for a renewed push in advertising, such as the new online platform Greece from Home that was launched recently by the Tourism Ministry, the Greek Tourism Organization and Marketing Greece.
Last year tourism brought in 18 billion euros ($19.56 billion) but this year only resulted in 1.7 billion euros ($1.85 billion) before Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis enforced the lockdown.
With worries people would still be reluctant to travel following lockdowns are lifted and air travel begins again, he said there could be mass tests of visitors, perhaps at airports from where they are departing.
He added that once the government has completed its consultations with scientists, it will be seen whether a health certificate would be required for destinations as well as visitors and what else that would involve, the paper also said.
