Covid-19: Greek Hoteliers Call for Measures to Facilitate Road Tourism

Greek hoteliers are calling on the tourism ministry and government officials to take measures that will facilitate road travel and ensure safe admission into the country through its borders in the Covid-19 era.

More specifically in a letter to government and Macedonia and Thrace Region authorities, the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation (POX) is proposing a border management and entry process plan that should include the following measures: 

– the opening of all border crossing points with emphasis on the Evzones check point which is used by travelers from most of Central Europe

– the improvement of infrastructure at border stations and boosting staff and security in order to meet the increased demands 

– setting up separate arrival lanes for tourists holding vaccination certificates or negative PCR test results and ensuring these documents can be verified on the spot through on-site scanning in order to avoid unjustified delays. 

POX said the issue was one of “survival”.

“Ensuring the smooth and safe arrival of tourists by road is – especially for enterprises operating in the mainland and Northern Greece, where road tourists make up the vast majority of their customers – a matter of survival both for the enterprises and for the areas in which they operate, which rely on tourism”.

POX goes on to add that the Greek government’s efforts to open to tourism on May 14 must include the above proposals, which it said should be implemented ahead of Orthodox Easter (May 2). 

The government announced on Monday that travelers can now enter Greece through the road border points at Promachonas and Nymphaea under a pilot plan ahead of the official May 14 opening to tourism.