Tourists can visit Greece again from mid-June, its tourism ministry has said – although there will be blanket testing for people coming from certain countries, including the UK.
Holidaymakers will be allowed from 15 June as the Greek government looks to soften the financial blow of coronavirus.
Greece released a list of 29 countries it considered safe on Friday, saying tourists coming from these places would be randomly tested on arrival.
Clarifying how tourism would work from mid-June a day later, Greek officials said travellers would still be allowed from other countries – but they would all be tested and have to self-quarantine for seven days if the test comes back negative.
“If the test is positive, the passenger is quarantined under supervision for 14 days,” the ministry of foreign affairs said.
Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, South Korea, China are on the list of 29 countries Greece will accept tourists from without blanket testing.
Others include Australia, Bulgaria, Israel, Norway, Finland, Japan and the Czech Republic.
However, some of the world’s worst-affected countries – including the UK, France, Italy and Spain – are not included on the list, which was drawn up based on a document from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Greece imposed a lockdown early in its coronavirus outbreak, a move which has been credited with keeping the number of infections down.
A total of 2,909 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the country, according to figures on Saturday. This is a relatively low number compared with elsewhere in the European Union.
From 15 June, travellers from 29 countries – including Albania, Austria, North Macedonia, Switzerland, Estonia, Croatia and Cyprus – will be able to enter Greece on direct flights to Athens and to the northern city of Thessaloniki and will be randomly tested on arrival.
It will be expanded on 1 July to include more countries, the tourism ministry said.
Tourism and related industries make up around 20 per cent of the Greek economy, and the government has been anxious to ensure the tourist season is not lost this year.
Greece’s national lockdown – which was put in place in March – brought its business and tourism sector to a virtual standstill as the country tackled the spread of coronavirus.
Greece restarted regular ferry services from the mainland to its islands on Monday and cafes and restaurants were also back open for business as the country accelerated efforts to salvage its tourism season.
The easing of lockdown measures started in early May, with hair salons, sports shops and bookstores allowed to open as long as they follow strict hygiene and social distancing measures.
Additional reporting by agencies
