Eager Greece gears up for socially distant tourism
• Country with rare coronavirus success story faces huge financial hit without usual slew of summer visitors
Beach umbrellas and sun loungers several metres apart, the end of the buffet bar and a place on every island for self-isolators — tourists travelling to the Greek archipelago this summer may find that the traditional package holiday has been turned upside down by the coronavirus crisis.
A Greek government ban on travel to the islands has meant that some of Europe’s most popular destinations have been deserted for the start of a season that powers much of the country’s economy. Now hoteliers are hoping things will turn around when Greece opens to visitors in early July.
“Last year we suffered from overtourism and we’re discussing how it could be controlled. Now we have zero tourism, but at least we’re Covid-free. The big question is whether this season can be rescued,” said Antonis Iliopoulos, president of the hoteliers’ association on Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular islands.
Greece has so far been a rare coronavirus success story. With just more than 2,836 confirmed cases and 165 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday, the country’s casualty toll from Covid-19 is dwarfed by that of its southern European peers.
Greece took early, drastic action, going into full lockdown on March 16, 13 days after its first coronavirus case was confirmed. “The prime minister … acted very fast and took the right decisions much earlier than other countries,” said Elias Mossialos, a professor in health policy and adviser to the Greek government.
But the country is still at risk of a financial hit, especially as EU officials this week damped hopes of summer holidays as usual on the continent. Even if the tourist season got fully under way by July, GDP would still fall about 4% this year, according to Yannis Stournaras, Greek central bank governor. If the sector collapsed, GDP could drop by as much as 8%, he said.
With the sector’s indirect contribution to output of more than 20% and employment of one-quarter of the country’s workforce, hoteliers have voiced urgency about restarting the sector. Greek airports are reopening to international traffic in May, but it is not clear when direct flights to the main tourist islands will resume. Without regular flights from Germany and the UK, the main markets for the islands, Greece could see a 70% drop in arrivals in 2020, several hoteliers said.
“We’re impatient to get going, we’ve lost three months of business already — that’s almost half the season. But it’s up to the tour operators and the airlines to bring the guests,” said Babis Mourelatos, the owner of a hotel on Kefalonia, an island popular with British tourists.
“One-third of our customers are repeat visitors and didn’t cancel so we’ll be able to keep going this year. But we get calls from prospective guests and we can’t give them a clear answer on flights,” he added.
The government is providing temporary support for hotels to reopen, offering subsidies for social security contributions for their staff and a four-month suspension of loan and tax repayments.
Deloitte warned in a report earlier in May that if severe outbreaks of the virus continued through 2020, many Greek hotels would face bankruptcy. On Crete, the biggest Greek island with several large resort hotels, up to 40% of properties might not open in 2020, said Manolis Tsakalakis, president of a local hoteliers’ association. Many Cretan resorts were hit hard by the collapse in October of the UK holiday group Thomas Cook, which worked with more than 700 owners on the island.
“If we don’t get the bookings from abroad — and we’re not seeing them yet — big resorts won’t open. There won’t be enough domestic demand to sustain operating costs, especially under social distancing rules. These businesses will write off 2020 and look to a recovery in 2021,” he said.
While hotels are due to receive guests on July 1, social distancing rules mean occupancy will be capped at 50%. At least one property on each island is to be set aside to isolate tourists who may be infected with the virus.
“We’ve put the beach umbrellas 10m apart after deciding that 5m, as some people recommended, was too close [for safety],” said Andreas Andreadis, co-managing partner of Greece’s largest tourist resort group.
“Buffets aren’t going to be allowed and tables have to be several metres apart so we have to find extra seating areas, preferably in the open. We measured up and found alternatives we think will work,” said Mourelatos.
At one stage, Plexiglas cubicles were considered for the beach. “Plexiglas is not a solution. First, because whoever sat in one would be having a sauna, not cooling off. Second, because it would ruin the natural beauty of an island beach,” said Andreas Efthymiou, a hotel consultant.
Of the 3-million tourist arrivals to Santorini last year, more than 2-million came between July and October, raising hopes that if the virus crisis abates the sector can still break even in 2020.
Kyriakoula Tsouni, the owner of an award-winning hotel on Santorini, said many customers who cancelled their bookings in February accepted a voucher valid for 18 months rather than a refund. “We have a few bookings for July and thereafter and some guests who cancelled their reservations for May have booked for September,” she said. /©