Greece is aiming to reopen tourism in June; Visitors could be subject to random COVID-19 testing; 29 countries are included in the first phase of reopening.
Citing mid-June (June 15) as the start date, Greece is looking to reopen their borders for tourism. In the first phase of their reopening, they’ll be allowing tourists from 29 different countries, including Israel – a country with a high rate of success throughout this pandemic.
When the borders are reopened, tourists will be allowed to enter Greece on direct flights to two of the major destinations; Athens & Thessaloniki. The hope of the Grecian government is to allow more countries as of the beginning of July. One caveat is that all travelers could be subject to random COVID-19 testing.
The 29 countries that will be allowed to enter Greece initially are Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.
Grecian Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated, “The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what you’ve had in previous years. Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greece — provided that the global epidemic is on a downward path.”
Though Israelis will be able to enter Greece, under current Israeli policy, they’ll be subject to a two-week quarantine period upon arrival back into their country.
