The machines of the largest Greek industry, tourism, started to move with steady steps and optimistic forecasts after the positive developments with the «European digital certificate Covid».
However, an important cog, the British market, is far from restarting Greek tourism following the Johnson administration's assessment that it does not meet the criteria to join the Britain's famous «green» list.
Boris Johnson's announcement, which is turning British tourists to Portugal, making this year's holiday, perhaps the most expensive in recent years, as prices in the only «green» country in the south have already risen, is causing a major backlash in Britain itself.
Tourism giants that already have cooperation packages with Greek hotels and businesses, they lose a large part of their turnover, resulting in them suffocating pressure for Greece and Spain to join, perhaps in sections, in the «green» list, which means a vacation without quarantine on the way back.
And all this, when Britain is in the grip of the Indian mutant mockingbird, with outbreaks of great concern both inside and outside the country.
Ο Boris Johnson, immediately after the announcement of the «free» trips, was quick to warn Britons to reconsider their trips abroad this year, saying «the decision may be premature».
And while Greece is eager to join the UK's «green» list for obvious tourism-related reasons, the same is not true for Germany and the EU.
Germany's blockade of the British because of mutations
Η Germany which, together with Greece and Spain, is in the «orange» Britain's list, announced that does not allow entry to travellers from Britain only if they are German citizens or residents and for humanitarian reasons, and will be subject to the following conditions the 14-day quarantine measure, even if they test negative.
The decision was taken when the German Institute of Public Health described Britain as dangerous region due to the coronavirus mutations.
Germany will impose fresh restrictions on travellers from the U.K. starting May 23 due to the rapid spread in Britain of the #coronavirus strain first identified in India.https://t.co/MTEvsYnbyT
- BloombergQuint (@BloombergQuint) May 23, 2021
In particular, the German Foreign Ministry classifies the UK as a country with a «very high risk of infection». This category includes 12 countries with widespread spread of coronavirus mutations. The reason for the German decision is the high prevalence of the indigenous coronavirus mutation in Great Britain, particularly in south-west England and London.
EU: Britain off the white list
At the same wavelength is also the EU, which announced its decision to «freeze» Britain's inclusion on the «white list» of the countries that can freely enter the Union.
Ο British Guardian, reported that the freeze will be delayed for 2 weeks any new decision due to the increase in new cases of the indigenous coronavirus mutation, which has recently been observed in the United Kingdom.
British tourists to EU may have to quarantine even if vaccinated https://t.co/IE0uuxZDDL
- Guardian news (@guardiannews) May 19, 2021
An EU official had told the Guardian that «Member States need a little more time to examine theDevelopments concerning the Indian strain. They want to prevent countries on the list from being “in and out”.
This decision of the European Central Administration shall not, however, be binding on the Member States who can formulate their own tourism policy.
Brexit and mutations will decide the... colour of the lists
And while, the not so friendly development of relations between the EU and Britain after Brexit, is one side of the coin in both sides' decisions on tourism, the Indian mutation is definitely the other.
Both the Greece and all the countries of the European South would not want to see their tourism affected under the weight of new cases, after the huge mobilization to restart it.
But they wouldn't want to miss the 79% of the British that declares itself ready to pack its bags for the warm south with the Greece, Cyprus and Malta to be in the top three of their preferences.
The Brexit and mutations are the two major weights on decisions that both sides will be asked to take, which are expected to redefine their decisions in the very near future.
Until then, Greek tourism is pinning its hopes on German, French, American and Israeli travellers as these countries consider Greece a safe destination.
