Covid-19 The Day After – efforts and initiatives Greek Hotels: Safety of Tourists and Staff is Top Priority by GTP editing team 8 March 2021 written by GTP editing team 8 March 2021 0 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 10 Photo source: Hilton Athens Just like in 2020, Greece’s hotel enterprises will open their doors to guests this season with high health protection measures in place, according to Halkidiki Hotel Association President Grigoris Tasios. In a recent interview to the Athens News Agency (ANA), Tasios said that the Greek hotels’ safe 2021 opening will be the main message of professionals at this year’s ITB Berlin virtual tourism expo. Focusing on this year’s tourism opening in Greece, the federation’s president said that he was in favor of the establishment of a vaccination certificate to facilitate travel in the post-Covid-19 era. “This way we will welcome people from everywhere,” Tasios told ANA, adding that visitors that are not vaccinated should at least have a negative test with them (PCR or rapid test). Tasios, who is also the president of the hotel association in Halkidiki, northern Greece, reminded that the destination’s tourism professionals are willing to cover 50 percent of the cost of Covid-19 testing for incoming tourists this year. He has also proposed frequent on-the-spot rapid testing to be conducted the staff of Greek hotels. “Health protocols in hotels are connected with the health of employees, who will need frequent coronavirus tests,” he said. Most hotels in Greece will open in June Moreover, Tasios told ANA that the majority of Greek hotels will start operating in June and, considering that “everything goes smoothly” on the front of the pandemic, some hotels may open for the Easter period. While avoiding to make any predictions on how the tourism season will develop in 2021, Tasios said that a more clear picture on how the year will progress may show at the end of the month. He also expressed concern on the viability of hotel companies and underlined that even if they achieve half of the revenue of 2019 – a record year in terms of tourism receipts and arrivals in Greece – their future will still be at stake. “This does not mean that loans and debts will be less in 2021,” he stressed and called on the government for a clear settlement to be drawn up for debts of the hotel sector to the state. Join the 15,000+ travel executives who read our newsletter Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Covid-19 Travel Restrictions Keep One in Three Tourism Destinations Completely Closed next post Greece to Show its Best at ITB Berlin 2021 Virtual Tourism Expo You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ