Greece to Let Direct Foreign Tourist Flights From June 15
Greece to Let Direct Foreign Tourist Flights Resume on July 1
(Bloomberg) --
Greece will allow direct international flights to Athens starting June 15, with other tourist destinations to follow July 1, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, as he announced financial support measures to revive the country’s crucial tourism sector.
Officials didn’t specify which nation’s tourists would be permitted, only that they would be from countries with low infection rates as seasonal hotels reopen.
“As we won the health fight, so we will win the war for the economy,” the Greek premier said in a nationally televised address. He urged the same discipline, flexibility and solidarity that won “global admiration” for the country” during the virus emergency, he said, and the priority “is to protect jobs.”
Greece, with a population of about 11 million, has reported 2,850 confirmed coronavirus cases and 166 deaths as of Wednesday, a fraction of the per capita toll in Italy, Spain and France. Restaurants will reopen on May 25 and a ban on traveling to islands for non-residents will also be lifted.
From June 1 until the end of October, the country will also cut sales tax to 13% from 24% on ferry, airline and bus tickets and on non-alcoholic beverages served at cafes, bars and restaurants, Mitsotakis said.
The government also plans to subsidize a portion of wages for employees in sectors hit hardest by the crisis, including tourism, which accounts for around one-fifth of Greece’s economic output, using European Union funds from the bloc’s SURE program at a cost of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in a first phase.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.