The Greek authorities have announced that Romania is among the 19 countries that will be allowed to send tourists to Greece starting June 15, without the 14-day quarantine, Hotnews.ro reported.

The announcement came just days after Romania avoided joining Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia in a cross-border initiative to foster tourism in the region. Unless things change (a highly unlikely scenario), Romanian tourists will have to undergo a 14-day containment period when returning from their holidays in Greece.

Romania invoked still uncertain sanitary outlook, but the refusal was broadly seen as a result of the local HoReCa sector pressures for opening local resorts and keeping the tourists at home.

On Wednesday, Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis unveiled the "Restart Tourism" plan based on which Greece will allow tourists to enter the country, starting June 15, initially from countries chosen "on epidemiological criteria." Moreover, Theoharis said that tourists coming to Greece should not be tested for coronavirus before traveling and will not be quarantined upon arrival.

More than 500 beaches in Greece were reopened on Saturday, as the country tries to strike a balance between providing protection against the COVID-19 pandemic and revitalizing the tourism sector.

editor@romania-insider.com

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