GNTO and Greek Small Islands Network Discuss Covid-19 Crisis Action Plan

The port of Ithaki island.

The main challenges created by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on the country’s small islands were addressed during a video conference call between Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) President Angela Gerekou and island municipal authorities, members of the Hellenic Small Islands Network.

“From the onset, the tourism ministry and the GNTO have taken immediate steps and will continue to do so following the announcement of additional specialized measures to deal with the consequences of Covid-19,” the GNTO’s president said.

The meeting focused on ways to address the issues posed by the Covid-19 epidemic including the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the island communities and on tourism enterprises; measures to ensure the protection of island inhabitants and visitors; the need to boost local infrastructure in this direction; safeguarding the islands’ reputation after the crisis subsides; and ways to promote the islands through the #greecefromhome platform and other channels.

Spetses Island.

“Securing an ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the small islands ensures they are at the core of our actions, which involve tapping into island-specific advantages and coming up with the appropriate solutions,” said Gerekou.

The Hellenic Small Islands Network is made up of municipal authorities from a number of Greek islands including Tilos, Ithaki, Spetses, Kythnos, and Patmos under the presidency of Eleftherios Kehagioglou.

Gerekou’s video conference call included Kehagioglou and the mayors of Tilos, Maria Kamma; Kythnos, Stamatis Garderis; Patmos, Eleftherios Pentes; Ithaki, Dionysis Stanitsas; Halki, Angelos Fraggakis; the deputy mayor of Spetses, Spyros Fardellos; and the advisor of Ithaki municipality, Konstantinos Karavias.