Greek Travel Agencies Seek Extension of Covid-19 Relief Measures

Greek travel agencies are calling on the government to extend current relief measures to June 2022 citing lack of professional activity and losses due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist & Travel Agencies (FedHATTA) sent a letter to responsible ministries, requesting the extension to June 2022 of the following measures:

– the Syn-ergasia job retention program

– rent subsidies

– the suspension of tax and insurance obligations (including relevant adjustment installments)

– postponing to after the end of June 2022 the repayment of repayable advances

– the immediate disbursement of dues to tourist offices participating in the “Tourism for All” scheme (without deductions for tax and insurance contribution payments)

-the immediate disbursement of outstanding or delayed amounts from other program participation

– the extension of the Gefyra II program.

The association is also requesting the reinstatement of the contract suspension program until June 2022 in efforts to retain jobs.

The letter comes after a previous call to the government in November and then again in December to be included in government funding programs based on financial losses suffered from 1 March to 31 May 2021 (over 2019), losses exceeding 50 percent of turnover in the same period in 2019, and sector-specific activities with relevant KAD codes.

The association describes the current situation as “very difficult in which the travel agency industry finds itself as the most impacted – and still affected – industry after so many tourism periods without work or with marginal operations and with zero activity during Christmas and New Year’s due to the problems created by Omicron”.