As the summer season comes to an end, Greek Tourism Minister Harris Theocharis praised the country’s results during the season and noted that this year the country has received more than six million tourists.
According to Theocharis, in July and August, the country was expected to exceed two million visitors, which has not happened since 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com.
“In fact, in July, our country for the first time overtook France as a favorite vacation spot of the French. That is, the French traveled more to Greece than to their country. This is a very important event, “Theocharis said.
He also noted that more than 450,000 French tourists visited the Greek islands this summer, a significant number given the pandemic situation.
Speaking about domestic tourism, Theocharis also noted that there was a growth that should have taken place over the years, given the economic crisis in Greece.
They helped in this program “Tourism for All”, as well as in the program “Social Tourism”. We intend to expand these programs as much as possible. We will use them as much as possible, we will keep them in the coming years, because we have seen that they have given significant results, “said Teoharis, referring to the tourism program, which will run until December 31.
The program was announced in June and aimed to allocate a € 30 million fund to 250,000 Greeks so they can spend their holidays on the islands.
Earlier, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that Greece continues to ban domestic travel because the vaccination campaign lags behind other countries.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Greece vaccinated 65.8% of its population with the first dose of COVID, while 63.4% of the population were fully immunized against the virus.
On the issue of vaccination, Theocharis said that those who do not want to be vaccinated must comply with other requirements, such as frequent testing, wearing masks and following other hygiene measures.
“Vaccination is the only way to freedom not for others, but for ourselves and our immediate family, the people we love. We must protect them, “Theocharis said.
He also suggests that people returning from major cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki be tested after returning and tested again in the next few days.
The Financial Times recently reported that Greece is a champion in resuming tourism, as the country received the largest number of tourists in Europe, about 25 percent more than Spain, which is a longtime competitor of the country in the field of tourism.
At the same time, according to the Greek Aviation Administration, the volume of air traffic in the first half of this year increased by 146.8 compared to 2020. However, compared to the level before the pandemic, this figure decreased by 63.5 percent.
These figures have been influenced not only by the country’s hospitality industry, but also by the recognition of various vaccines. Greece is the country with the highest number of vaccines in Europe, which means that travelers from all over the world vaccinated with one of these vaccines can travel to Greece and be exempt from quarantine restrictions.
To help travelers plan their trips, VisaGuide.World has created a tool designed to inform those who want to travel whether their dose of vaccine is valid in their destination country.