V. Kikilias in the Financial Times: We expect 35% more visitors in 2022 from Britain compared to 2021

“Having met most airlines and tourism service providers in the UK, we can only be very optimistic about 2022,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias told the Financial Times, noting that “in 2022 Greece expects 35% more visitors than the United Kingdom in relation to 2021 “.

Mr. Kikilias points out that Greece, whose 25% of GDP comes from Tourism, was one of the first European countries to open in 2020, taking a calculated risk, gaining the confidence of travelers that it is a safe destination. . He also clarifies that the summer tourist season will start in March 2022, earlier than any other year.

“The risk we took in 2020 paid off. We installed more health facilities in the island’s health facilities and popular tourist destinations, connected doctors with each hotel unit and followed our strict health protocols. The Greek government has also decided to allocate 320 million euros from RF to strengthen the infrastructure of island and mainland destinations of the country “, Mr. Kikilias emphasizes characteristically.

The statements of the Minister of Tourism are hosted in a report of the newspaper entitled “British airlines increase their flights to Greece, in anticipation of the country’s tourism boom”.

The report refers to the recent agreements with Jet2 and EasyJet, which provide for an increase in available airline seats to Greece, with the addition of more flights and destinations. He characterizes the agreements as a clear indication of the faith with which the country’s travel industry expects the total return of Greek Tourism in 2022.

According to the newspaper, according to the data of the largest tour operators, bookings to Greece for the summer of 2022 in October had exceeded the level of bookings of the corresponding period for the summer of 2019, with travelers tending to spend savings accumulated during lockdowns in higher quality accommodations.