Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, Nikos Hardalias announced that Thessaloniki, like Athens, is ready to start receiving tourists from June 15.
After meeting with the health personnel that will be carrying out sample tests on foreign passengers at Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia", Hardalias also said that Greece's Covid-19 testing protocol will be revised and if need be adapted every 2-3 days, depending on the latest epidemiological data.
Greece’s borders will be “open” from June 15th, with flights permitted to land in Athens and Thessaloniki. The countries are: Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, and Finland.
Last week, Greece’s new tourism promotion campaign for the 2020 season was showcased, which is targeted to foreign audiences and social platforms abroad, to encourage tourists to come to Greece.
During his time in Thessaloniki, the Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management also met with Central Macedonia Regional Governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
During their meeting, Travelling News reports that they discussed a number of issues including this year's travel season and the safety of incoming flights and road tourism.
Following the meeting, Tzitzikostas pointed out "if it wasn't for Nikos Hardalias in this role, Greece would not have responded so well. The exemplary treatment and the excellent results in the first wave of the pandemic helped Greece to stand on its own two feet and recover. We are together in dealing with the pandemic. In cooperation, we will implement all the required protection measures for our fellow citizens and visitors, following all the necessary steps and taking the planned actions for the start, but also for the entire duration of this year's tourist season."
Regarding the firefighting season, Hardalias stressed that last year's experience was capitalised and is being used in the current phase. He added that six new seasonal firefighting units would be opened in Halkidiki, which he said showed "the interest and prioritisation that the government has made in these matters".
Hardalias described the cooperation with the Central Macedonia Regional Governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas as "good", which, as he said, is "at a high level of readiness" and added: "Our cooperation has been, is and remains at a very high level and is judged not by our meetings, but by the results we achieve together."
