Greek Tourism Ministry Closely Monitoring Coronavirus Situation

At the moment, early bookings for summer holidays in Greece are seeing a slight decline due to the coronavirus outbreak but a severe impact (cancellations) on the market has not been recorded.

Greece’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and the ripple effects it may cause on sectors including tourism, retail and supplies, topped the agenda of a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday in Athens.

“As a government we are developing actions for the side effects of this international phenomenon,” the Greek PM said during the meeting, which followed two new cases of coronavirus in the country.

Greece currently has three confirmed cases of coronavirus, two in Thessaloniki and one in Athens.

“With regard to the protection of public health, the approved plan of the competent ministry is underway,” the premier said. It should be noted that earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias announced the cancellation of all carnival events across Greece, as done by other European countries.

Economy, supplies

According to the PM, a preliminary assessment of the possible impact of the coronavirus on the Greek economy, if the phenomenon escalates in Europe, is being prepared by the Finance Ministry.

The Finance Ministry is also said to be examining measures to support entrepreneurship, if deemed necessary.

“As for the market, there is no problem with the supply of any goods, so there is no reason for anxiety and artificial demand from consumers,” PM Mitsotakis said.

Tourism

Regarding tourism, PM Mitsotakis said that measures are already being taken by the Tourism Ministry.

According to sources, the Tourism Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and has one of the main roles in a crisis management team set up by the Health Ministry and includes the National Public Health Organization and tourism sector bodies (SETE and Hellenic Hoteliers Federation). Sources underlined that the Tourism Ministry is in constant contact with the crisis management team in order to coordinate actions to lessen any impact the coronavirus may have on Greek tourism.

At the moment, early bookings for summer holidays in Greece are seeing a slight decline due to the coronavirus outbreak but a severe impact (cancellations) on the market has not been recorded.

However, if the coronoavirus situation escalates in Europe, sources revealed that the Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) may re-examine the country’s promotional plans and focus more on safeguarding the reputation of the Greek brand to pass on the message that Greece is one of the most safest countries to travel to.

Moreover, according to sources, the Tourism Ministry will have a more clear picture of the coronoavirus’ effect on Greek tourism after minister Harry Theoharis meets with his counterparts next week in Berlin, Germany, at the ITB travel trade show.