Sweden Signals Interest for Tourism to Greece

The Swedes are keen on visiting Greece this summer and additional actions are being taken to facilitate travel between the two countries, Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said after a visit to Stockholm this week.

As part of his Northern Europe tour, Theoharis met with the Swedish Minister of Enterprise, Ibrahim Baylan, to discuss ways that will facilitate safe travel and simplify procedures for those wishing to visit Greece in the coming period.

Theoharis described talks as “very constructive”, adding that significant progress had been made.

Sweden is the only Scandinavian country that has allowed travel to Greece and to other countries without restrictions on returning travelers, said Theoharis, which forms a “very good foundation for a further and immediate increase in tourist traffic from Sweden to Greece”.

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis with Swedish Minister of Enterprise Ibrahim Baylan.

The minister also met with local tour operators including the Director General of the Association of Swedish Travel Agents and Tour Operators (SRF), Didrik von Seth, executives from Der Touristik Apollo, Nordic Leisure Travel Group and Airotours, as well as from special interest tour agencies including Temaresor and Don Orient Tourism.

Theoharis also discussed the possibility of new flights to Greek destinations with Björn Winberg of Wingo Destination Management.

During his meetings, Theoharis presented the country’s updated risk-assessment map which tracks the spread of Covid-19 in the country and provides the latest information on safety restrictions by regional unit, municipality and island. The minister was also interviewed for local media, including Göteborgs-Posten, Sveriges Radio, and Vagabond Travel Magazine, among others. 

Citing feedback from Theoharis’ Northern Europe tour, the tourism ministry expects demand for Greece by Scandinavian travelers to pick up at the end of June and into July, as well as in the off-season months of October and November, the tourism ministry said.

During his meetings, Theoharis announced that Greece, in efforts to simplify airport procedures for travelers, was considering to accept holidaymakers who present negative rapid antigen test results upon arrival, in addition to negative PCR tests and to the EU’s Covid-19 vaccination certificates.