In a letter, the Greek Community of Melbourne, after congratulating Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, are calling for a resumption of tourism travel between the two countries SBS Greek reported.
"There are many Greek-Australians who make this long-distance trip to Greece every year because it is an important part of their lives there. They have the opportunity to be with their families, parents and grandparents," Vasilis Papastergiadis, the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, said in an interview on SBS Greek.
"We believe that the time has come for a discussion on how we can give the green light for a tourist flow between the two countries that have succeeded in tackling the coronavirus. We start by knowing that we need to first review the health advisers because we do not want to lose anyone on such a journey, as health is the most important thing," he said.
Among other things, the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne did not fail to mention the respect that the body he represents, but also the Greek community, enjoyed from Australian government.
"It is important that within 24 hours of sending the letter, the Australian Prime Minister's Office responded that it has received it and that its content will be discussed. They don't tell us if the answer will be positive, because we all know that unfortunately things are up in the air right now. However, it is important that he showed interest and recognises the letter, from an organisation that has the respect of the Prime Minister," said Papastergiadis.
Greece said on Friday it will open to visitors from 29 countries from June 15, days before its peak tourism season begins, as reported by Greek City Times.
The countries are: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Israel, Switzerland, Japan, Malta, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Hungary, South Korea, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Finland.
Visitors will be randomly tested, the tourism ministry said, and the government would monitor and evaluate developments related to the coronavirus. The list will be updated before July 1, the tourism ministry said.
