A Year Affected By COVID-19, Greece Is Preparing To Welcome Tourists

JAKARTA - The Greek authorities decided to open themselves to foreign tourists starting Monday, April 19, after closing themselves off and being affected by COVID-19 throughout 2020.

On the island of Rhodes, where most visitors come from overseas, hoteliers are scrubbing, polishing and painting in anticipation of a defining year in the tourism business they run.

"We are preparing the hotel to get ready for operation, after the government gave us the green light", said George Tselios, general manager of the Sun Beach Hotel, whose customers come from Scandinavia, Germany, Austria and the UK, reported by Reuters, Tuesday, April 20.

Although it will officially only open on May 14, starting last Monday tourists from the European Union, the United States, Britain, Serbia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates can visit without quarantine, if they have been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19.

Tourism, which generates a fifth of Greece's GDP and one in five jobs, is critical for an economy that has emerged from a decade-long slump only to return to last year's recession when COVID-19 hit.

During the pandemic, Rhodes is always full of tourists from March to October. However, mid-April, the island is still deserted, like a ghost town.

An enclosed luxury resort towers over a long, sandy, and empty coastline. Beach towns usually filled with British tourists, are silent, with closed shops, tavernas and bars.

Many have closed since 2020, when only 7.4 million people visited Greece, fewer than any year in a decade-long economic crisis, down from a record 31.3 million in 2019.

From hotels to restaurants and daily cruises, many businesses survive on the help of state subsidies. Last year, only 600 thousand tourists visited Rhodes, down considerably from 2.3 million in 2019.

"Most of them feel the country cannot survive another crisis", said Rhodes Deputy Mayor for Tourism Konstantinos Taraslias.

To get the summer it hopes for, Greece is conducting widespread testing for COVID-19, quarantine hotels and vaccinating islanders and tourism workers.

"We have done everything in our power to have a better season. We will be completely ready in mid-May", said George Hatzimarkos, governor of Greece's most popular region, the South Aegean Islands, which in addition to Rhodes includes Mykonos and Santorini.

However, until now, there are only a few tourist bookings. Mostly for August to October, said the President of Hotel Rhodes, Manolis Markopaulos.

"Orders are usually last minute. We can understand that because guests really want to make sure they will fly. But that doesn't mean we won't get bookings later," he explained.

Relatively better off coping with the first wave of the pandemic, Greece previously imposed several restrictions, to protect its health services. Tourists are subject to restrictions, including curfews. The restaurant and bar have been closed since November.

"We are going through an unprecedented situation. We are waiting day after day for people to get vaccinated, so we can open and have a normal season", said Giannis Chalikias, who has nine businesses in Rhodes, but only one can open.