Greece undertakes to cover health expenses for those guests who may get Covid-19 in Greece. What emerged from the meetings of the Minister of Tourism H. Theocharis in the Netherlands

The review of the tourist instructions in relation to Greece was undertaken by the high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Ms. Anita van den Ende, during her meeting with the Minister of Tourism, Haris Theocharis.

The Minister presented  the new epidemiological map of Greece to Ms. Anita van den Ende, emphasizing the need to relax the directive for travel to the Greek islands and she in turn pledged to review the tourist directives in relation to Greece, according to relevant announcement.

Then, Mr. Theocharis informed the CEO of the tour operator “SUNWEB”, Mr. Mattijs ten Brink -one of the most important online Tour Operators in the Dutch market for Greece- about the reduction of cases in Greece.

The minister also pointed out, according to the same announcement, that the intention of the Greek government is to accept travelers upon entering the country with either a 72-hour PCR test or a 24-hour rapid test.

Mr. Mattijs ten Brink expressed his enthusiasm for this development, as in this way the cost for a family is reduced significantly and consequently there will be an increase in travel bookings for Greece.

Extension of tourist season

Then, in the meeting with the President of the Association of Tour Operators of the Netherlands (ANVR), Mr. Frank Oostdam and the General Manager of TUI Nederland, Mr. Arjan Kers, the Greek Minister of Tourism discussed the possibilities of extending the tourist season, with additional flights from Netherlands to Greece until the beginning of November, to include the autumn holidays for Dutch students, at the end of October. The assurance by Mr. Theocharis  that the Greek Government undertakes to cover the nursing expenses for those guests who may fall ill with Covid-19 in Greece was also very important. This cost is not yet covered by Dutch insurance companies, forcing tour operators to cancel flights to countries in the “yellow” zone or repatriate their passengers in the event of a change in the travel directive.

In talks with the owner of tour operator “Corendon”, Mr. Atilay Uslu, and  CEO Mr. Steven van der Heijden, Mr. Theocharis stressed the importance of supporting Greek destinations in the near future and until the Dutch market is normalized. The representatives of “Corendon” expressed their optimism for a positive season, with great “last minute” demand, based on the data of the first bookings from the previous weeks.

Luxury tourism

Finally, Mr. Haris Theocharis met with Ms Lydia Kortekaas the Director for Greece, responsible for the advertising program on behalf of the tour operator, “Silverjet Vakanties”. This is the most important Dutch T / O especially for luxury tourism, which cooperates mainly with 5 star hotels in Greece. The representative of “Silverjet Vakanties” conveyed to the Minister the interest of the Dutch market for the new tourist infrastructure in our country and the satisfaction from the cooperation with EOT for the advertising program that is implemented jointly in the context of the resumption of Greek Tourism.

Before leaving for the next stop of his tour in Northern Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr. Theocharis gave interviews to SBS 6, Trav Magazine and the daily Volkskrant. In his interviews, the Minister of Tourism presented in detail the measures taken by the Greek Government for health insurance, the steadily declining course of cases and the rapid pace of the vaccination campaign, along with the success recorded so far in the opening of Greek Tourism.

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