Greece has reopened to many overseas visitors, including from the United States, jumping ahead of most of its European neighbors in restarting tourism, even as the country's hospitals remain full and more than three-quarters of Greeks are still unvaccinated.
It's a big bet, but given the importance of tourism to the Greek economy - the sector accounts for one quarter of the country's workforce and more than 20% of gross domestic product - the country's leaders are eager to roll out the welcome mat.
And although the U.S. State Department recently added Greece to its long list of countries with the designation "Level 4: Do Not Travel," Greek officials maintain that - with social distancing measures and testing protocols, alongside the warming weather - tourism in the country will be safe, for visitors and residents alike.
Pushing the Timeline
In easing its border restrictions, Greece has jumped ahead of a broader European Union reopening to tourists from outside the bloc, but the country is not alone in pushing the timeline. Among European Union members, Croatia and Cyprus have also already opened to vaccinated and COVID-negative tourists, including from the United States. And French President Emmanuel Macron last week announced that if the country's epidemiological situation allows, the country will open June 9 to all non-EU visitors, provided that they carry a "health passport," details of which have yet to be announced. Outside the EU but still within Europe, Iceland, Montenegro and Serbia have already taken steps to ease their border restrictions, including for American visitors.
"We welcome a common position" on restarting tourism in the EU, Greece's tourism minister, Harry Theoharis, said in an interview. "All we're saying is that this has to be forthcoming now. We cannot wait until June."
According to the current rules, visitors arriving from the United States, the EU, Britain, South Korea, Australia and a handful of other countries are now allowed quarantine-free entry into Greece, on the condition that travelers provide proof of COVID vaccination or a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours before their arrival. Arriving visitors may also be subject to random, obligatory rapid tests at the airport; anyone with a positive result will be required, along with their traveling companions, to quarantine at a Greek hotel for at least 10 days, at the expense of the Greek government.
The new terms of entry were applied to tourists from the United States and several other countries as of April 19; they are expected to be extended to all visitors May 14.
A 'Wait and See' Mode
Anyone coming from the United States will have plenty of ways to get to Athens. On May 28, Delta Air Lines is resuming direct daily service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Greek capital; American Airlines, United and Emirates will follow suit in early June, offering direct service from New York-area airports. Direct flights to Athens from Chicago, Washington Dulles, Atlanta and Philadelphia will also come online for the summer travel season.
But how many of those seats will be filled remains to be seen.
"A lot of people are still in a 'wait and see' mode," said Chantel Kyriakopoulou-Beuvink, director of Natural Greece, a tour operator based in Athens that works primarily with clients in the United States and Europe. She noted that several bookings for May tours had been canceled, although most clients had asked for their payments to be put toward future trips. She added that reservations have already come through for summer and fall tours, but many potential clients are still holding off on booking.
Expect Social Distancing, Masks and Sanitizer
On the ferries or otherwise, anyone who decides to make the trip to Greece should expect to see plenty of public health measures in force.
Greece has been in various stages of lockdown since November, with residents subject to a curfew and limits on movement within the country. Shops, schools and cultural institutions have been forced to close, while restaurants and bars have been limited to takeout only.
The restrictions gutted the lively cafe culture in Athens, where the past winter was even quieter than usual, said Georgia Nakou, a political and economic analyst for media outlet MacroPolis. But compliance with the rules has slackened as the weather has warmed, and many Greeks have begun congregating in large numbers in the squares of central Athens. Everyone, it seems, is ready for a break.
"People know that they're going to be released, and they're already mentally partying," Nakou said.
While Greece's lockdown restrictions are due to be lifted by the time the country fully opens to tourists May 14, visitors should still expect to encounter social distancing measures, the country's tourism minister said. Tables will be widely spaced at restaurants; lounge chairs will be farther apart on the beach; masks may be obligatory on some city streets; and hand sanitizer will be in plentiful supply.
Open-air archaeological sites such as the Acropolis in Athens have already reopened to the public, with masks required of all visitors. Museums, including the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum, will reopen May 15 with social distancing measures that are still being determined, a spokeswoman from the tourism ministry said.
Hotels are also subject to public health protocols, including weekly rapid testing of staff and mandatory mask wearing in common-use areas. The minister stressed that all social distancing rules and other public health measures will apply to visitors and residents alike.
'Tourism and Food
Is Our Only Industry'
Protecting Greek citizens from the coronavirus is a priority, the tourism minister said, but so is shielding them from the devastating effects of a prolonged economic decline. And last year's plunge in tourism numbers hit the country hard: The national economy shrank by 8.2% in 2020, making Greece among the worst-hit countries in Europe. The tourism sector took the brunt of the blow: In 2020, Greece's revenue from foreign tourism fell to a quarter of the more than 18 billion euros (nearly $22 billion) registered the year before.
"The last year felt like a nuclear explosion in our society," said Kostas Tzilialis, co-owner of Locomotiva Cooperativa, a cafe and bookshop in central Athens. Tzilialis, also a worker there, estimated that before the pandemic, tourists accounted for up to 40% of daytime guests at the cafe. The business has managed to survive the pandemic by offering takeout service, processing online book orders and receiving some government support - but it hasn't been easy, he said, adding that many of his friends have suffered severe financial and psychological problems over the past year. On the reopening of tourism, he thought the government didn't have a choice.
"Unfortunately, after more than 10 years of economic hardship, tourism and food is our only industry," Tzilialis said. "We don't produce cars or machines. So we have to open our industry right now. Let's hope that people will be careful and the vaccines will protect us."
Most Greeks - who have endured months of lockdown - would agree with that sentiment, said Nakou, the analyst. "I think there is little alternative, to be honest, given the importance of the sector in the economy," she said.
But Nakou noted that COVID cases rose after the country's opening to tourists last summer, and that many Greeks associated the arrival of visitors with an increase in the circulation of the virus. She noted that in a survey conducted among Greeks last fall, tourism was the most commonly cited factor in causing the second wave, ahead of people flouting lockdown rules, as well as congestion in public transport and in restaurants.
"I think that is at the back of a lot of people's minds locally," said Nakou. "They're pleased to see the economy reopening; they're also quite worried about this."
In terms of daily new infections, Greece's worst moment of the pandemic came early last month, when the country was averaging more than 3,000 cases per day; intensive-care admissions reached their peak about two weeks later. On a per-capita basis, Greece's experience pales in comparison to the worst moments of the pandemic in the United States, Britain, France or Italy, but because Greece's medical system has suffered from years of underfunding, it is particularly vulnerable to strain. The country's intensive care units were 87% full as of April 21, even as lockdown measures were due to be peeled away.
At the same time, vaccination is picking up. Just over 20% of the country's population had received at least one dose of vaccine by the end of last month. The coverage is much higher in some of the Greek islands, which were targeted early in the country's vaccination campaign in part because of their geographical isolation and limited medical facilities. But local leaders also hope that the image of heavily vaccinated, "COVID-free islands" will help to lure tourists back.
"It's a very important step that guarantees the launch of the tourist season and sends a message of optimism," Efi Liarou, mayor of the island Elafonisos, told Agence-France Presse last month.
However many people end up traveling to Greece this summer, it's clear that this year's peak tourist season will be unlike any other.
"I think anyone coming here should acknowledge that it's not going to be like 2019," said Nakou. "Don't expect that you're going to be able to blow off steam like this never happened. Because it's not over yet."