Greece was Among Top 2020 Travel Destinations for Austrians Before Covid-19

Austria’s travel trade magazine T.A.I. (Tourist Austria International) reported that Greece was among the first outbound Mediterranean destinations of choice this summer for Austrians, before the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic made its appearance.

Entitled “Gradual relaxation of Lockdown – Analysis of travel to the top 6 destinations”, the article cites data released by Austrian travel agency chain Ruefa from its annual poll Ruefa Reisekompass 2020. According to the data, 90 percent of Austrians had intended to travel this summer to the following destinations, in the order as announced by TUI: Greece, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Egypt and Croatia.

The article then refers to the travel warning levels that have been assigned to each country by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

Referring to the aforementioned destinations Greece is considered to be among the safest, with a travel warning level 4.

“Even for Greece, which has only been assigned travel warning level 4 in Austria, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cannot make any statements as to when the measures taken by his country will be relaxed,” the article notes.

The central photo of the article by T.A.I. show’s Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Alike Greece, Egypt and Croatia have also been assigned travel advisory level 4 in Austria.

“With Crete (Heraklion and Chania), Rhodes and 18 direct flights from Austria, Greece would have been the most intensively developed destination for outgoing flights this year,” TAI said.

Moreover, according to the article:

– Austria is the first country to already have gradually eased its measures.
– Turkey, which until recently had a level 4 travel warning, rose to the highest level – 6 – due to the extremely rapid outbreak of the epidemic throughout the country. It is therefore speculated that this summer Austrians will not visit Turkey.
– Italy: It is not possible to estimate when Italy will emerge from its state of emergency.
– Spain, which has been assigned the highest travel warning (security level 6) is working on various scenarios to restart tourism. However, the arrival of foreign tourists in the Canary Islands and the Balearics is not considered possible. It is also believed that the country will be in a position to welcome tourists again only in the fall.
– Egypt: Although the country is at travel warning level 4, there is no information on when the season could restart for the country.
– Croatia: Also at travel warning level 4, it is expected that some Austrians will choose to vacation in croatia this summer. The country is adjacent to Austria and accessible via Slovenia.