Britons keen to go on holiday - even with quarantine
tourism
03 Jun 2020
/ 13:12
LONDON. The UK is the second biggest source of income and visitors for Greek tourism after Germany.
The UK was not included in the Ministry of Tourism's list of 29 countries for whom the borders will be open from 15 June. Nevertheless, according to the British media, British tourists are optimistic that they will be able to visit Greece in the summer even if they have to go into quarantine for a week and undergo coronavirus tests on arrival.
Second most popular destination
Greek destinations are high on the list of Britons' preferences this year. According to a survey by TUI, Greece is in second place on the list of holiday destinations that they intend to visit following the lifting of the lockdown.
Number one on the list is Spain and Italy is in third place. The survey, which used a sample of 2,000 Britons, also showed that of those who said they were going to go on holiday, 45% said that they wanted to go on holiday before summer 2021.
Some of those in the hotel sector have expressed scepticism about allowing British tourists, even with quarantine, due to the country's response to the pandemic and the high number of deaths (over 49,000).
Concern about income
There is equal concern, however, about income, given that the tourist demand from the British market seems to be large. Last year Greece had 3.5m visitors from the UK and an income of 2.564bl Euros.
Average spend per head was 733 Euros according to the Bank of Greece and average length of stay was 8.7 days. The most popular destinations were the Ionian Islands, the South Aegean islands and Crete.
The 29 countries from which flights will be allowed to Athens and Thessaloniki airports without quarantine are the following: Albania, Australia, Austria, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Finland.
Another three markets that are important for Greek tourism have also been left off the list - the USA, Italy and France.
Source: capital.gr / Vicky Kourlibini
Second most popular destination
Greek destinations are high on the list of Britons' preferences this year. According to a survey by TUI, Greece is in second place on the list of holiday destinations that they intend to visit following the lifting of the lockdown.
Number one on the list is Spain and Italy is in third place. The survey, which used a sample of 2,000 Britons, also showed that of those who said they were going to go on holiday, 45% said that they wanted to go on holiday before summer 2021.
Some of those in the hotel sector have expressed scepticism about allowing British tourists, even with quarantine, due to the country's response to the pandemic and the high number of deaths (over 49,000).
Concern about income
There is equal concern, however, about income, given that the tourist demand from the British market seems to be large. Last year Greece had 3.5m visitors from the UK and an income of 2.564bl Euros.
Average spend per head was 733 Euros according to the Bank of Greece and average length of stay was 8.7 days. The most popular destinations were the Ionian Islands, the South Aegean islands and Crete.
The 29 countries from which flights will be allowed to Athens and Thessaloniki airports without quarantine are the following: Albania, Australia, Austria, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Finland.
Another three markets that are important for Greek tourism have also been left off the list - the USA, Italy and France.
Source: capital.gr / Vicky Kourlibini
