SETE: Greece’s Tourism Sector Needs Support into 2021

As the main tourist season for Greece comes to a close and the impact of Covid-19 lingers, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) has made six proposals aimed at helping businesses survive.

SETE proposals, sent in letter to labor and economy ministers, include job retainment measures through to March 31, 2021, noting that initial forecasts of 4-5 billion euros in revenues generated by international travelers have due to the resurgence of the pandemic dropped to 3-3.5 billion for all of 2020.

SETE tabled the following six proposals to apply through to March 2021: state subsidized insurance contributions; extending the suspension period for employment contracts to include October and November; extending the Syn-ergasia job retention program until March 31, 2021; freezing employee insurance contributions to EFKA until April 30, 2021; payment by the state of leave and Christmas benefits for employees in seasonal companies whose contracts have been suspended; and reducing insurance contributions for those working from home (telework).

SETE is arguing that the measures are necessary to put a stop to “inevitable layoffs” in the tourist sector.

SETE President Yiannis Retsos

“We knew from the start that this was going to be a lost year. It is probably evolving worse than expected. The big issue in the coming months is the support of employees and companies, so as to be able to enter 2021. And protecting our excellent brand,” SETE President Yiannis Retsos said via his twitter account.

Retsos said he expects conditions for tourism enterprises to deteriorate further in the last quarter of the year and in the first of 2021.