Greece launches new campaign to attract tourists

Greece has unveiled a new national campaign for tourism called “Restart Tourism.”

The country hopes to open up to most destinations as of 1 July. Visit Greece, the official website for the Greek tourism industry, is promoting health resorts but not medical tourism.

According to the new campaign, going to Greece will be the same yet also different. Basic health protocols will have to be applied without exception. Safeguarding public health, the safety of visitors and tourism workers, is a non-negotiable priority.

The Ministry of Tourism campaign means opening the country up to people potentially carrying the virus, but Greece hopes current testing regimes can be enhanced to reduce the risk.

The new campaign aims to inform international travellers of the experience the Greek summer offers, which does not stop at sun and sea. The campaign’s video, which in just 40 seconds highlights this uniqueness of Greece, aims to create a new brand for the country: the Greek Summer.

Greek tourism will open with strict health protocols and enhanced health infrastructure in every destination so that every citizen and tourist has access to care.

Greece has presented a White Paper to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), on behalf of UNWTO’s European COVID-19 Task Force, titled “Recommendations for restarting tourism’, which covers:

Response Strategies:

• Confinement
• Monitoring, evaluation and assessment

Indicators:

• Border control
• Market Intelligence
• Data collection

Responsive and new measures:

• Evaluate and assess the pressures received by the enterprises of the tourism industry (hotels – airlines – tour operators, etc.)
• Evaluate proposals to keep the tourism sector operational during the crisis period (information, mobility, financing)
• Collect, evaluate and propose destination level measures

Set criteria to determine the restart of travel, tourism and leisure activities and events:

• Epidemiological situation
• Health system capacity
• Monitoring capacity
• Introduction of specific safety rules

Finally, determine policies and practices for the period of transition from restart to full operation.

The paper’s recommendations were:

• Protocols of safety and hygiene for accommodation and leisure facilities as well as for tourism enterprises (tour operators, guides, hotels, etc.)
• Continue to support employment and invest in digital skills for attracting visitors
• Review taxes
• Examine deferrals for the smallest businesses in difficulty
• Review airport fares, loans’ policy and working capitals for businesses
• Review marketing policies, co-advertising and granting of air positions with tourism organisations
• Differentiate the sources market portfolio and invest in new market segments.