British Tourists Eager to Book Greece Holidays After UK Eases Rules

Corfu island, Greece. Photo Source: Visit Greece / E. Fili

British travelers hungry for some sea and sun after months of Covid-19 restrictions rushed to book their summer holidays to Greece after the UK government eased quarantine rules last week for amber-listed countries.

The Greek islands, and particularly Corfu, are among the top destinations of choice among travelers from the UK, which is one of Greece’s top source markets.

Indicative of the increased demand, UK media reported that major tour operators saw searches and bookings for Greek destinations “soar” after the announcement.

Thomas Cook was reported as saying that searches “especially for Greece, had tripled in volume” and that the country would be benefitting from families who would be booking their summer vacation last-minute.

At the same time, the UK’s Daily Mail reported that low cost carrier easyJet had added 145,000 seats after the announcement to meet the high demand. The airline said it recorded a weekly increase in bookings of up to 400 percent for destinations such as Corfu, Alicante, Malaga, Nice and Faro.

British Airways also said there was a 96 percent increase in the number of views for Greece on its website, UK media said.

Jet2 was also reported as saying that it would be restarting travel to amber-listed destinations including Greece with 20 flights per week.

The UK’s FCDO revised its travel advisory for Greece after announcing last week that as of July 19, vaccinated travelers from amber-listed countries would not be required to self-isolate upon return. It also reversed its previous guidance which advised against non-essential travel to Greece. The renewed advice takes effect on Monday, July 19, at 4am and applies to all Greek territories.

Meanwhile, in response to media reports of “possible cancellations” for Greek destinations due to the spread of Delta, Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) President Yiannis Retsos said on Friday via his twitter account that “based on current data provided by tourist destinations, there is no ‘wave of cancellations’. There is concern due to the Delta variant, mainly in view of a possible response by our main markets, but on the other hand, there is also expectation as we await reservations from Britain”.