(TAN): While France plans to restrict major international travel this summer in order to decrease chances of renewal of the pandemic, Greece could reopen the country to international visitors in July, around the time for summer holidays, reports said.
According to reports, Greece has managed to keep COVID-19 deaths comparatively low by imposing a strict and early lockdown. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Greece, a country of reportedly 10.72 million, has so far reported 2,678 cases of infection and 148 deaths.
The southeastern European nation started lifting lockdown restrictions earlier this week, and with hotels set to start operating from June 1, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece could open its doors to tourists, especially “high-end” ones, by July 1, as per reports.
“The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what you’ve had in previous years. Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greece – provided that the global epidemic is on a downward path,” he was quoted by CNN as saying.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis plans to host wealthier tourists as they will be able to afford more exclusive and luxury resorts and expensive flights where social distancing can be maintained, reports said.
“Ideally, we want more high-end tourists where we can actually respect social distancing,” he was quoted by The National Herald as saying.
“Yachting, for example, where you have a fewer number of people who are on a boat, and then they go out to eat or buy provisions. Agrotourism, tourism in smaller hotels seems to me to be better suited for this new sort of post-pandemic world,” CNN quoted Prime Minister Mitsotakis as saying.
Greece acted fast in ordering closures when the virus initially started spreading worldwide – Prime Minister Mitsotakis cancelled festivals and issued closure of schools, restaurants and cafes, followed by a lockdown on March 23, during which citizens had to register to step out of their homes to visit the market or exercise, according to reports. The country closed its borders to non-European Union citizens in March, and ordered a compulsory 14-day self-quarantine for all individuals arriving to Greece, reports said.
The restrictions to keep residents indoors began to relax earlier this week – hotels that operate throughout the year are set to open first, followed by those that serve seasonally, reports said. However, ferry boats still cannot go to islands with passengers, as per reports.
