Ts narrow alleys and stone sidewalks in the traditional village of Oia, in Santorini, are usually crowded with tourists even at this time of year. The Greek island with the view of the most famous sunset in the world is always one of the main travel destinations. But COVID-19 put the growing popularity of Greek islands on hold in 2020, and while the warm Mediterranean climate means that the tourist season in Greece usually starts in early April and runs through late October, the streets are relatively quiet.
With vaccination continuing around the world, however, and the convenience of rapid testing, Greece is opening up to international travelers on May 14, after nearly a year, and hopes to resume the success of the past. And business owners on two of its most famous islands, Santorini and Mykonos, expect the reopening to take place with a bang.
Giorgos Dimitrokalis wakes up every day looking at the magnificent view of the volcanic caldera and, although he was born and raised in Santorini, that view of the Aegean Sea never ceases to amaze you. But for the owner of KD Hotels and Resorts and vice president of the Santorini Hoteliers Association, it is difficult to be the only one to enjoy this view. “It looks like a completely different island. Unrecognizable. Last year, we were joking that the locals had a chance to enjoy the island for themselves. I hope that this summer things will be the same as before the pandemic, because the island has suffered a lot. “
Unlike other places in Greece, islands like Santorini and Mykonos base most of their economy on tourism. In 2019, tourism represented just over 20% of the country’s general economy, according to the Greek Tourism Confederation Institute. It was the best year in a decade.
And then came the coronavirus.
“It was summer outside, but there were as many people on the streets as if it were winter. There wasn’t even a soul out there. It was surreal, ”says Poly Linoxylaki, owner of the Sand Lily boutique in Imerovigli in Santorini.
Desperate not to lose another year, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis recently announced that the government will reopen tourism in Greece from 14 May.
There are two types of tourists visiting Santorini, explains Dimitrokalis, who owns 10 hotels across the island: “In hotels that are close to the beach, we have seen greater interest so far this year. Our customers stay there for about seven days, usually families, mostly Europeans. In the most central hotels, such as those in Caldera and Fyra, travelers coming from abroad, such as Americans, Brazilians, Chinese and Australians, tend to stay for a maximum of three days. They come to see the island, admire the sunset and leave ”.
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For Embark Beyond, a luxury travel consultancy based in New York, “Greece and Turkey may be the only European countries open this summer” for Americans, so they suggest their customers “book now, before they the floodgates open and it is too late. “
“What we’ve been told is that international flights to Greece for tourism will be open from all over the world on May 14th. We are just waiting for the authorities to tell us what the protocols for this year will be, ”said Dimitrokalis, who points out that the Americans are among the biggest fans on the island.
“Most tourists who visit Santorini are from the United States and Australia and, if for some reason they are unable to come, I will have a big problem,” says Linoxylaki, who sells clothes and accessories, mostly made by Greek designers. “These are my customers. They support small businesses like mine. “
During this time of year, summer bookings would normally be around 70-80 percent, but according to Dimitrokalis, today the number has dropped to 25-30 percent. “We hope that next month more people will be interested and we hope that by the end of the season we will be able to reach around 50 percent of 2019. We are putting our hopes in last-minute bookings to reach our goal,” he says.
Most reservations start in mid-summer, but everyone is optimistic. “If the weather is good we hope to expand this year’s season, because we are already losing the first three months”, says Dimitrokalis, and this is what Linoxylaki agrees, although he has his doubts about the reopening: “We hope it will be September and October the peak of this season. But I must be honest, personally I do not believe that we can open on May 14, as the government said. “
Similar to Santorini, most Greek islands also suffered their share last year. Among them, Mykonos, the popular Cycladic island with bright white houses and bustling nightlife.
When Kim Kardashian and her family traveled to Mykonos in 2013 to film the eighth season of Following the Kardashians, Kim was pregnant with North and the island was full of paparazzi … and lots of tourists.
Today, Iraklis Zisimopoulos, CEO of the Semeli Hospitality Group that hosted the Kardashian family and their team for almost a decade, looks back on those days with some nostalgia, but with confidence in the future. “I’m sure they’ll be back; the coronavirus will not last forever. It may not be this year, but we see that the dynamics of Mykonos are not lost and we are sure that even better days will come ”, he says.
Zisimopoulos is also secretary general of the Mykonos Catering and Entertainment Association, as well as president of the Mykonos City Business and Professional Association. “I have hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs and everything is closed,” he says with a bitter smile.
Speaking to the Athens News Agency last September, Konstantinos Koukas, the island’s mayor, said that last season they reached just 30% of 2019, and as Zisimopoulos explains: “Last year was catastrophic, but we hope this year be different. It will definitely not be anything close to a normal season, but it certainly won’t be like 2020. “
The most important role in defining this will be the protocols under which tourists can enter Greece. “So far we know that there are three options: 1) People who have been vaccinated, 2) People who have tested negative in the last 48 hours and 3) Those who have been sick and now have antibodies,” says Zisimopoulos, himself a doctor.
However, when it comes to Mykonos, people don’t travel to the island just for the beautiful view or to swim in the crystal blue sea. They go because they want to have fun and everyone has only one thing in mind … the nightlife!
Mykonos is known worldwide as the “party island” of Greece and a land where you can be openly who you are. Anastasios Kapetanias contributed as much as anyone to that reputation. For the director and founder of XLSIOR Festival, the only gay music festival in Greece and among the top five in the world, last year was the first time he had to cancel it, since it was first launched in 2009. But he has high hopes for this summer.
“People are thirsty for fun,” he says. “We receive a lot of e-mails every day from people begging us to do the festival this year. They tell us’ we need to see our friends; we need to feel free again ‘. Everyone is about to explode; we can’t take it anymore. “
For the Greek government, nightlife is not a priority and will be one of the last things to open up, and under what terms it is not yet known. But for the local economy, this is a huge blow. XLSIOR alone brings more than 30,000 people to the island each summer from around the world. “We have people from the United States, Brazil, Spain, Israel, and most people who come every year”, explains Kapetanias, who also collaborates with several local businesses such as hotels, rent-a-cars, restaurants, etc. to help your customers.
“Last August, when the government decided to close all bars and clubs at midnight, all reservations were interrupted and many canceled,” said Zisimopoulos. The whole situation was completely surreal, as described by Kapetanias: “People were walking the streets looking for some parties in the villas and everyone was hiding as if we were at war. This is not Mykonos. “
The Greek government decided to vaccinate all small island residents, with less than 1,000 inhabitants, with some of the first COVID-free islands in Greece, including Kastellorizo and Oinousses,
Could a similar plan work for Mykonos, with around 10,000 people? Zisimopoulos is confident that he will solve many of his problems: “If all residents are vaccinated, whatever happens to the island, we will have a strong protective shield. In a normal season, we would have at least 10 reservations per day. Now, the maximum is 2. In the last 20 days, we have seen some movement and some reserves from the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States, where vaccination is faster. Most of these reserves are for July and August. “
Kapetanias, on the other hand, suggests that a good idea for the reopening of live festivals like his is the quick tests. “They can go to a clinic on the island earlier in the day, take the exam and if it is negative they can come with the result and enter. We just need to be super organized so that people are completely safe. “
And even if no one knows for sure what this summer nightlife will be like, the island’s engines are running and everyone is getting organized, hoping they won’t have to cancel again. “Because of the situation, we will be able to organize events in dream locations, where in other years it was not possible. This year, most of our events will also be outdoors. Of course, we will also bring the best DJs, musicians and dancers that we know that our audience loves ”, says Kapetanias about this year’s event, which has already been announced for the 18th and 25th of August.
“It will be a year in which we will have a large part of our lives and vacations back, and because we were deprived of so many things last year, it will make us feel much better. I really believe that there is hope on the horizon ”, says Zisimopoulos. Kapetanias agrees: “To be honest, what I want this summer is to see people happy, who are laughing, having fun, safely and who would like to come back next year.”