Greece Kicks Off Tourist Season Early to Meet “Great Demand”
Greece's tourism minister says the tourist season will start officially in March, earlier than previous years, and there are "positive signs" for Greek tourism in 2022.
Strong signs for Greek tourism
Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias has announced the visitor season will officially start this month, earlier than previous years. “There is strong demand and great momentum for Greek tourism in 2022,” Kikilias shared with Reuters. “The big tour operators, the big airlines, want to extend the period (from March to December).”
Tourism in Greece began to recover in 2021, with the tourist season that officially started in May generating more than €10 billion / US$11 billion in revenue. Greece, which relies on tourism for a fifth of its economy, had its worst year on record in 2020 with just €4 billion / US$4.5 billion in revenues due to restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the Covid pandemic.
Greece is one of the first European countries to reopen to tourists ahead of the summer season. International visitors are expected to pour into the country this summer as Greece has also eased travel restrictions – fully vaccinated visitors do not need to a negative test in order to enter the country.