Greece prepares to open its doors to holidaymakers all year round
Greece is gearing up for a busy summer season and is ready to welcome travellers after easing its Covid-19 restrictions.
That’s the message the popular Mediterranean destination delivered at the Arabian Travel Market this year.
“Greece is an open country; we don’t have any restrictions any more and every restriction of Covid belongs to the past,” Dimitris Fragakis, the general secretary of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, said at the annual travel event in Dubai.
“I think people don’t know this yet, there was some confusion. But I would like to point out that there are no restrictions in Greece other than wearing face masks in internal areas. Greece is open, people can travel freely.”
As well as dropping travel restrictions, the country has lifted domestic Covid-19 safety measures. This means travellers can enter cafes, bars, restaurants and other public places without having to show a negative PCR test result or proof they are vaccinated against the disease.
Travel between Greece and the UAE is set to benefit from the $4.2 billion investment initiative announced by the countries last week.
“Greece and the Arab world have had a very good relationship for decades now, for centuries,” said Fragakis.
“The visit of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, to Abu Dhabi and the agreement signed with the UAE is another sign for good relationships between the countries.
“Every deal improves the relations between the countries and how Greece can promote its products, and the most important product for us is tourism.
“It accounts for 25 per cent of our GDP and almost 700,000 people are working in tourism from a country of 10 million.”
The sun-soaked destination is already a popular choice for travellers from the UAE, accounting for 2.1 per cent of all outbound travel traffic. Holidaymakers from the UAE flock to the country to visit Athens and the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. But there’s a lot more for tourists to discover.
“There are also a lot of islands like Rhodes, Kos and other smaller islands to visit,” said Fragakis. “We also have the Ionian Islands in the Ionian Sea, where there’s some marvellous architecture.
“And when it comes to emerging destinations, Peloponnese is one of the most beautiful regions of Greece. It’s near Athens, and there’s also an airport there called Kalamata, so it’s easy to get to.”
Greece has also positioned itself as a year-round destination, not simply a place to enjoy the sun.
“It’s not well-known, as everyone thinks that Greece is purely a summer destination, but that’s not true,” said Fragakis.
“We have many destinations all over Greece that are very exciting during winter.
“We have snow, we have 17 ski centres – you can even go skiing in Crete, the only island in Greece with a ski slope.”
Other winter attractions awaiting visitors include mountain villages, lakes, winding rivers and a rich food culture.
“It’s not difficult at all to reach the islands,” said Fragakis.
“You can fly direct to Athens, Mykonos or Santorini on a direct flight and then take a short domestic flight or a boat and go directly to any of the other islands.
“It’s really close and the network of internal flights and shipping is really great.”
The country is also set to launch direct flights from Doha to Santorini with Qatar Airways, which was announced at the Arabian Travel Market last week.
The flights will begin on June 7 and will boost connectivity between Greece and the Mena region, adding to routes operated by Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Wizz Air, Gulf Air and Aegean Airlines.