TUI Russia expects to send about 300,000 Russian tourists to Greece through its bookings this summer if the season starts on schedule and air traffic is restored without restriction.
This was stated by the general director of the company Taras Demura after meetings with the Minister of Tourism of Greece Haris Theocharis…
Earlier it was reported that Greece intends to start a full-fledged tourist season on May 14, and until that moment remove most of the existing restrictions. In particular, after this date, Russian tourists will be able to visit the country if they have a vaccination against coronavirus, a negative PCR test certificate or a certificate of the presence of antibodies.
According to the press service of TUI Russia, this week Mr. Theocharis is in Moscow on an official visit. The country is eagerly awaiting tourists from Russia, so during the visit, the minister meets with officials and representatives of the tourism industry to discuss a plan of joint activities necessary for the safe repetition of tourist trips.
“We hope that after the visit of Mr. Theocharis, both Russia and Greece will take all the necessary decisions. “If, as expected, the resumption of flights between our countries is adopted by May 14, then in the current situation in 2021 we will be able to send 300 thousand tourists to Greek resorts,” said Mr. Demura after the meeting.
According to the General Director of TUI Russia, the opening of Greece will help in the redistribution of tourist flows, since the resorts of Russia will not be able to accept everyone due to the lack of a sufficient number of improved rooms.
He added that if the situation develops favorably, the travel agency will begin charter flights to Crete from Moscow and Yekaterinburg, as well as to Corfu from Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and Kazan. In addition, TUI Russia is ready to offer tourists trips on the basis of regular flights to Athens, the resorts of Halkidiki, the Peloponnese, the islands of Zakynthos and Santorini.
“Overall, we are looking forward to this summer with optimism, as Friedrich Jussen, head of the TUI group of companies, believes that successful vaccination programs will prevent the loss of another summer season. “We are optimistic about this summer,” he told the BBC, revealing that Europe’s largest tour operator had 2.8 million bookings in March alone.
The company announced on Tuesday that summer bookings are 56% of their 2019 levels, with prices up one-fifth as households that saved money during quarantine look to spend more on vacations.
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