Greece's tourism revenues down 78% in first nine months of 2020

According to the Bank of Greece, tourism revenues fell 78.2% and there was a 77.2% drop in arrivals over the first nine months of 2020.

This is attributed to the covid-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, travel receipts this year amount to €3.51 billion, after a 73.4% annual contraction in takings from European Union citizens and an 83% slump from non-EU visitors.

Faring slightly better in comparison with other markets were those of France and Germany, from where travel receipts fell 68.9% and 69.4% respectively from 2019.

Greece extends travel restrictions until November 30

Passenger Information – Rules for domestic and international flights during Greece’s lockdown

Domestic flights

From 6am on Monday, November 9, domestic flights and commercial and general/business aviation to all airports in the country will be permitted only for essential travel, including for reasons of health, professional/business trips, family reasons (reunification of families) and a return to the permanent place of residence.

There are exceptions including: Hellenic national healthcare system flights, state flights, sanitary flights, humanitarian flights, emergency flights, military flights, fire-fighting flights, Frontex flights, technical landings where passengers do not disembark, ferry flights and cargo flights.

International flights

From Tuesday, November 10, all passengers of international flights departing from Greek airports must fill in a Passenger Locator Form.

As of 6am on Wednesday, November 11, travellers entering Greece must present a negative COVID-19 test no older than 72 hours, upon arrival. At the same time, passengers also need to fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) at least a day before arrival, providing information that will include their departure airport, the address where they will be staying and the expected duration of their stay in Greece, among others.

The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority stressed that before accepting passengers for boarding, airlines must check:

• the PLF submission confirmation at least the day before the flight, which is a mandatory travel document
• the correspondence with the QR code and the PLF

Airlines that do not comply with this control obligation will be responsible for the repatriation of passengers at the expense of the company.