Greece to open to tourists from 29 countries from June 15

[snoop1130]

Greece to open to tourists from 29 countries from June 15

 

FILE PHOTO: A Culture ministry employee wearing a face mask stands in front of the Parthenon temple as the Acropolis archaeological site opens to visitors, following the easing of measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Athens, Greece, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

 

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said on Friday it will open to visitors from 29 countries from June 15, days before its peak tourism season begins.

 

The countries are: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Israel, Switzerland, Japan, Malta, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Hungary, South Korea, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Finland.

 

Visitors will be randomly tested, the tourism ministry said, and the government would monitor and evaluate developments related to the coronavirus. The list will be updated before July 1, the tourism ministry said.

 

The Mediterranean nation, which emerged from a decade-long debt crisis in late 2018, relies heavily on tourism - about 20% of its output - for an economic recovery.

 

A nationwide lockdown imposed in March helped Greece contain the spread of COVID-19 infections to just below 3,000 cases, a relatively low number compared with elsewhere in the European Union. But it brought its business and tourism sector to a virtual standstill.

 

About 33 million tourists visited Greece last year, generating revenues of 19 billion euros.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-29

 

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[madmen]

No USA or UK!

China is in. Looks like Thailand is not alone come July 1st

[J Town]

22 minutes ago, madmen said:

No USA or UK!

China is in. Looks like Thailand is not alone come July 1st

That was exactly what I went looking for in that list of "good" countries.

[Andrew65]

3 minutes ago, J Town said:

That was exactly what I went looking for in that list of "good" countries.

No France, Spain, Sweden, or Belgium either.

[J Town]

10 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

No France, Spain, Sweden, or Belgium either.

Nor Italy.

[Bkk Brian]

Prayut's going to be ranting about this ????

Edited May 29, 2020 by Bkk Brian

[KhaoYai]

Could it be that they don't believe Thailand's figures for some strange reason?

 

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

Could it be that they don't believe Thailand's figures for some strange reason?

 

I'm sure they did think about Thailand for a few seconds, then fell off their deck chairs laughing

[torturedsole]

4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

About 33 million tourists visited Greece last year, generating revenues of 19 billion euros.

If Greece's lucky then they might return to the heady days of 2019's figures in five or six years time.  The global economy is royally screwed for some considerable time to come and tourism's always first in the firing line.  

 

By the end of 2020 the full devastating aftermath will emerge and it's going to be more than a little brutal.

[vermin on arrival]

Interesting Japan and China are in but no Thailand.

[CLS]

1 hour ago, vermin on arrival said:

Interesting Japan and China are in but no Thailand.

For the first world Thailand is as important as hen‘s toothache.

[daveAustin]

As soon as you see China in there, you know it's all about the money. Good luck, Greece. You were good.

[tribalfusion001]

Greece being a bit xenophobic, no UK.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

The early bird gets the worm. Whoever opens first will get most of the tourists for the rest of the year - people plan ahead of time and they won't plan to go somewhere they're not sure is even possible. Thailand says July but nothing concrete is known yet, so people cannot plan ahead. They'll just go to greece (and others) instead. Vietnam also says July but conditions of entrance unknown.

[sirineou]

 We usually spend a few weeks layover in Greece on our way to Thailand every year(we have friends and family there) , unfortunately it does not look like we will be doing it this year as the US is not in the list of allowed countries. We are hoping that by September the situation will change .

  As stated in the article Greece is heavily dependant  on tourism and as many as one third of the population directly or indirectly works in turism associated industries. So they have to do something to rescue as much of this year's season as possible. 

 Initially it was reported that those who would travel there would need a negative Covid 19 test before boarding a plane to Greece , this requirement has now be dropped for "randomly tested " something that will increase tourism but  which is IMO a mistake that could backfire and end the season early. 

 What would they do with those that test positive? you can't put them back on the plane and send them back. And what do you do with the passengers on the plane that were exposed to the one who posted positive?  What if you have 100 testing positive? and each was on a plane with 300 others , do you quarantine 30,000 in Greece. What kind of media and P.R. would that create 

IMO it is a desperation move that could have serious repercussions . Let's hope I am wrong. 

 

[robbioff]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

 We usually spend a few weeks layover in Greece on our way to Thailand every year(we have friends and family there) , unfortunately it does not look like we will be doing it this year as the US is not in the list of allowed countries. We are hoping that by September the situation will change .

  As stated in the article Greece is heavily dependant  on tourism and as many as one third of the population directly or indirectly works in turism associated industries. So they have to do something to rescue as much of this year's season as possible. 

 Initially it was reported that those who would travel there would need a negative Covid 19 test before boarding a plane to Greece , this requirement has now be dropped for "randomly tested " something that will increase tourism but  which is IMO a mistake that could backfire and end the season early. 

 What would they do with those that test positive? you can't put them back on the plane and send them back. And what do you do with the passengers on the plane that were exposed to the one who posted positive?  What if you have 100 testing positive? and each was on a plane with 300 others , do you quarantine 30,000 in Greece. What kind of media and P.R. would that create 

IMO it is a desperation move that could have serious repercussions . Let's hope I am wrong. 

 

IMO you’re being rather a drama queen...I mean seriously??? 100 positive on 1 plane- you’ve got more chance of seeing a T-rex in Lumphini Park!

[Captain Monday]

8 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Greece being a bit xenophobic, no UK.

The virus does not discriminate. If somebody has been in "OK" country for 2 weeks the 

should be allowed in. These policies make no sense.

[petermik]

Sadly since the ditching of the drachma Greece has been on a downward spiral..........

[Caldera]

Excellent news, I might just park myself there if I have to leave Thailand and cannot return anytime soon.

 

[hotandsticky]

Just now, Caldera said:

Excellent news, I might just park myself there if I have to leave Thailand and cannot return anytime soon.

 

 

 

With your username that comes as no surprise.... ????

[natway09]

I agree. This is a big gamble & hope it pays off,

The world will be watching this for a couple of months, Thailand in particular.

UK & the US may be off many lists for a while unless those two leaders with funny hair 

get a grip

[tribalfusion001]

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

The virus does not discriminate. If somebody has been in "OK" country for 2 weeks the 

should be allowed in. These policies make no sense.

I've never been there and unlikely to either.

[petermik]

7 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

I've never been there and unlikely to either.

You don,t know what your missing....lots of OK countries worth visiting for 2 weeks...or more

[Letseng]

20 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Could it be that they don't believe Thailand's figures for some strange reason?

 

Not many Thais visit Greece anyway. Whether they come or not will not make any difference to tourust numbers.

[sirineou]

9 hours ago, robbioff said:

15 hours ago, sirineou said:

 We usually spend a few weeks layover in Greece on our way to Thailand every year(we have friends and family there) , unfortunately it does not look like we will be doing it this year as the US is not in the list of allowed countries. We are hoping that by September the situation will change .

  As stated in the article Greece is heavily dependant  on tourism and as many as one third of the population directly or indirectly works in turism associated industries. So they have to do something to rescue as much of this year's season as possible. 

 Initially it was reported that those who would travel there would need a negative Covid 19 test before boarding a plane to Greece , this requirement has now be dropped for "randomly tested " something that will increase tourism but  which is IMO a mistake that could backfire and end the season early. 

 What would they do with those that test positive? you can't put them back on the plane and send them back. And what do you do with the passengers on the plane that were exposed to the one who posted positive?  What if you have 100 testing positive? and each was on a plane with 300 others , do you quarantine 30,000 in Greece. What kind of media and P.R. would that create 

IMO it is a desperation move that could have serious repercussions . Let's hope I am wrong. 

 

IMO you’re being rather a drama queen...I mean seriously??? 100 positive on 1 plane- you’ve got more chance of seeing a T-rex in Lumphini Park!

It was an exaggerated way for "a drama queen." to explain something simple to  to simpletons like you. who might not think there is a problem allowing millions of people ( About 33 million tourists visited Greece last year,) into the country without a test, during a pandemic. Or is the pandemic over?? 

   Even if they fail miserably and only 1/3 come this year , then  you have 11 million . of that if only .5% test positive you have 55,000. positive tests . Greece has 46,000 hospital beds many of them are already in use, and have a total of 477 beds in intensive care units . 

 So if I might make a suggestion , It might be a good idea, simpletons who might not even be able to find Greece on a map should leave  opinions to "to Drama queens"   who have spent a considerable amount of time there .

PS: don't be offended being called a "simpleton" you are the one who started the name calling. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by sirineou

[3NUMBAS]

joining the euro on the wrong terms left greece in dire straights plus borrowing too much euro cash left them in debt to the germans for decades ,much cash was siphoned off by corrupt govment officials to build beach side houses along the coast

[sirineou]

On 5/29/2020 at 5:02 PM, sirineou said:

 We usually spend a few weeks layover in Greece on our way to Thailand every year(we have friends and family there) , unfortunately it does not look like we will be doing it this year as the US is not in the list of allowed countries. We are hoping that by September the situation will change .

  As stated in the article Greece is heavily dependant  on tourism and as many as one third of the population directly or indirectly works in turism associated industries. So they have to do something to rescue as much of this year's season as possible. 

 Initially it was reported that those who would travel there would need a negative Covid 19 test before boarding a plane to Greece , this requirement has now be dropped for "randomly tested " something that will increase tourism but  which is IMO a mistake that could backfire and end the season early. 

 What would they do with those that test positive? you can't put them back on the plane and send them back. And what do you do with the passengers on the plane that were exposed to the one who posted positive?  What if you have 100 testing positive? and each was on a plane with 300 others , do you quarantine 30,000 in Greece. What kind of media and P.R. would that create 

IMO it is a desperation move that could have serious repercussions . Let's hope I am wrong. 

 

Unfortunately I was not wrong , with some of the first flights 12 of the 91 people on board the 1 June Qatar Airways flight tested positive for the virus on arrival in Athens.  Those testing positive have being quarantined for 14 days , the rest of the plane has being quarantined for 7 days and then will be re tested. All Qatar flights have been suspended until June 15. 

Let's hope it was an isolated incident. 

 https://www.flightglobal.com/networks/greece-halts-qatar-flights-after-positive-covid-19-tests/138668.article