Greek PM proposes “safe corridor” for tourism between seven other countries

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday proposed the creation of a “safe corridor” that will allow travel between countries which have successfully contained their coronavirus outbreaks, in a bid to revive tourism once border restrictions are lifted.

Mitsotakis put forward the proposal during the video conference with seven other heads of government that had successfully managed the first wave of the pandemic in their countries.

Participants in the video call included the Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis, and Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison.

During the teleconference, the eight leaders discussed their plans and strategies for restarting their economies and for the gradual resumption of activities in their countries. Among the topics discussed was the reopening of schools, while there was a special reference to tourism, as many of the countries are already opening or examining the opening of their borders to their neighbours.

Mitsotakis underlined the importance of cooperation among the countries within the group that have a very low number of coronavirus cases in the sector of tourism. In this context, he suggested the development of ‘safe corridors’- protocols that will allow holidaymakers to travel safely without putting their own or the local communities they are visiting at risk.

The eight leaders also discussed strategies against a possible second wave of the virus.