Minister: Greece will Welcome All UK Travelers with or without Vaccine Certificate

All UK travelers – vaccinated or with negative PCR tests – will be welcomed to Greece this summer once health authorities approve, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis told ITV News on Wednesday.

The Greek minister said that travelers from Britain that have had the Covid-19 vaccine would be able to enjoy quarantine-free holidays in the country this summer.

“All Britons, whether vaccinated against Covid-19 or not, will be able to travel for their summer holidays in Greece. For those who have been vaccinated and have the relevant certificate, no quarantine period or negative Covid-19 test before the flight will be required,” he said, underlining that Greece will also offer the option of a negative test for those who haven’t had a vaccine.

Moreover, he added that talks are ongoing between the UK and Greek governments regarding the launch of a vaccine passport, to prove that visitors have been vaccinated.

“We feel that the vaccination programmes is a game changer, together with rapid tests and alongside PCR tests,” he said.

Greece has already created vaccination certificates, which show that someone is vaccinated.

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis holding a Greek vaccination certificate. “It has three modes of identification: It has a QR code, a signature and a URL which you can verify,” he said.

On Wednesday, The Times reported that the Greek government may soon find itself at odds with the EU due to plans to open to tourists as early as May. The issue has created controversy as most Southern countries which rely on tourism revenue are eager to re-open to tourists to get their economies going.

Earlier this week, the Greek tourism minister said some northern European countries were “unwilling to look ahead and plan for an economic recovery in the summer. We need to move more quickly”.

Theoharis underlined that it was critical EU leaders “move more quickly” and embrace the vaccine certificate idea, which was tabled a month ago by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In the meantime, Greece has already held talks on establishing health certificates for travel with Israel and Cyprus.

The UK is one of Greece’s key source markets with nearly 4 million tourists visiting each year and generating over 2 billion pounds for the Greek economy.

The minister has expressed his optimism that the UK’s swift vaccine rollout could contribute greatly to better conditions this summer.