Johnson welcomes plans in September to lift US travel restriction
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Greece was one of the first countries to reopen to international tourists and is working to make the destination a year-round hotspot. The Mediterranean country is extremely popular with British tourists.
EasyJet said it had plans to bring in 500,000 more seats between the UK and Greece if airline schedules allowed.
Jet2 said it had one million more airline seats between the UK and Greece than it offered in 2019.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s tourism minister, told The Financial Times: “Having met most of the tour operators and airline companies here in the UK…we are very very optimistic about 2022.”
He said Greece expected 35 percent more tourists from the UK in 2022 than the country saw in 2021.
If numbers increase that much, tourism in Greece would match 2019’s record levels of 3.6 million tourists.
The minister also said he expected the ‘sun, sand and sea’ season to start even earlier in 2022.
Flights for the summer season are expected to begin in March as Britons rush to get away at the start of the year.
Agreements between the airlines and the Greek Government have created more slots for planes in Greece.
The tourism industry is expecting international travel to be back in full swing by next summer.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of low-cost airline Ryanair, said his airline would be operating more than 500 new routes in 2022.
The routes will be across Europe. He said: “We are looking at very substantial growth next year.”
TUI said it has seen bookings for summer 2022 soar past the level of equivalent bookings at this time in 2019.
British tourists are thought to be using lockdown savings to enjoy a holiday abroad in luxury accommodation.
Britons are the second largest international tourism market in Greece, close behind Germany.
The Greek Government said it had taken a “calculated risk” by opening up early but believed it had paid off.
It said the early start to foreign travel had helped to regain customer trust in Greece’s tourism industry.
The Greek Government said it had installed extra doctors in hotels and added health workers on the most popular island destinations.
Corfu, Santorini and Mykonos are all extremely popular island destinations with British tourists.
Visitors to the Greek mainland can explore the incredible ruins in the capital city Athens or enjoy one of the mainland’s beach resorts.
Britons keen to find a bargain could consider holidaying in Greece outside of the peak summer season.
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