The Greeks show us that you can make good money from tourism and travel even in a pandemic. The beautiful islands of Greece they attract millions of tourists every year, which is what happened this year as well. 2021 has been a difficult year for the pandemic for most of us, but not for Greece, which has reported revenues of over € 10 billion in tourism and travel.
The news was shared by the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, in an interview for France 24. He also noted that tourism is the driving force of the Greek economy, as 25% of state budget revenues come from this industry.
"We expected five to six billion euros in tourism revenue and we exceeded ten billion. The year is not over yet. Yes, we have tourists in Athens, Crete, Rhodes and we are ready to campaign for the first time for winter tourism in Greece ", he said Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias.
Even Romanians have contributed to this impressive amount. Hundreds of charter and frequent flights have linked Romanian cities to the main holiday destinations in Greece. In addition, thousands of Romanians chose to travel by car or bus. By 2022, Wizz Air, RYANAIR and Blue Air announced seasonal flights to the main tourist islands in Greece.
Regarding the campaign to promote winter tourism in Greece, I don't think it will be too successful. Most European countries are imposing new border restrictions. The new Omicron strain has hysterized the entire planet.
We remind you that the idea of the EU COVID-19 Digital Certificate has been supported by Greece from the very beginning. The document facilitated travel throughout Europe, and was a great advantage for the Greek state. Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias is very optimistic about 2022. Early bookings and rental agreements for next year are already in place.
Regarding the vaccine, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), about 65,1% of Greece's population is partially vaccinated, while 61,9% of the eligible population has been completely immunized.