Greek tourism continues to lose valuable revenue in favor of its competitors due to the fact that unlike other EU countries, Greece does not allow travelers to enter from distant markets such as Latin America, India and South Africa.
But after the recent announcements on the lifting of restrictions against the pandemic due to increased vaccinations, it is now possible and absolutely necessary to completely remove restrictions on entry requirements to foreign tourists.
The fact that all EU citizens can visit Greece without problems, but not third-country nationals, even if they meet the same entry requirements as Europeans, is largely hypocritical and illogical.
Much more, since the inhabitants of the above countries are already traveling to European countries, but - for an unknown reason - not to Greece.
The Federation of Hellenic Associations of Travel & Tourist Agencies (FedHATTA) pointed out the need to immediately lift any relevant ban that sets nationality criteria and to apply horizontal restrictions to all on the basis of purely epidemiological criteria.
The President of the FedHATTA, Lysandros Tsilidis, stated: "Greece must rediscover its position as a world-renowned country in the field of tourism, which will safely welcome all its travelers-visitors, wherever they come from. as long as they meet the relevant conditions.
"In its tourism policy, the current hypocritical exclusion of travelers, based on criteria arbitrary and irrelevant to the needs of the pandemic, has no place.
"Given that tourism operates on a deferred basis, now is the right time for the immediate and full opening of Greece's borders to all markets, as the whole world of tourism demands that in 2022 it finally operate under conditions of real regularity."
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