Greece Travel Secrets Blog

Oct 22, 2020

Greece Announces Covid-19 ‘Red Alert’ for Kastoria

Local lockdown measures will be imposed on the regional unit of Kastoria, northern Greece, as of Friday, October 23, in efforts of the Greek authorities to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

The decision was announced by Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias during an emergency briefing on Wednesday after a surge in infections was reported in Kastoria. The regional unit has moved up a risk level on the country’s risk-assessment map to Level 4 (red) and designated as a “very high risk” area.

Kastoria is the second regional unit in Greece labeled as “red”, after Kozani.

Moreover, Hardalias said that Thessaloniki, Larissa, Serres and Viotia will move to Level 3 (orange – high risk), as of Friday, due to a rise in infections. Ioannina also remains at Level 3.

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Oct 22, 2020

Greece on High Alert After Covid-19 Cases Soar

Greek authorities are urging the use of mask at all times and strict adherence to hygiene rules after the country announced a record 667 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

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Oct 21, 2020

Greece Tables EU-wide Rapid Testing Proposal to Restart Travel

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis called for the implementation of rapid testing for Covid-19 at all European airports in order to enable travel and ensure the safety of travelers, tourism professionals and destination populations.

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Oct 21, 2020

Virtual Athens Marathon 2020: How to Register

Registration for Virtual Athens Marathon 2020, the digital running event that will take place during November 8-22, is open on the website of Athens Marathon and through the event’s mobile application.

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Oct 21, 2020

Report: Greece Among 10 Best-selling Honeymoon Destinations for 2021

Greece is on the list of the Top 10 Best-selling Honeymoon Destinations for 2021 that was recently released by international travel specialist Kuoni, as part of its latest honeymoon report.

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Oct 21, 2020

Greece Still Attracting Travelers in October

Travelers are still visiting Greece in October with the airports of Rhodes, Kos, Santorini and Mykonos welcoming a total of 130,614 visitors so far this month, said the South Aegean Region, citing data of regional airport manager Fraport Greece.

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Oct 20, 2020

Selene Restaurant Sponsors ‘50 Great Greek Wines’ Event in Athens

Santorini’s Selene Restaurant was the Platinum Sponsor of the “50 Great Greek Wines” competition, a phygital event that was recently held in Athens to award the best Greek wines.

A total of 420 wines from 140 wineries and 74 varieties were evaluated during the process, of which 50 were honored and given a place on the “50 Great Greek Wines” list. The list will represent Greece in international markets, aiming to place Greek wine at the top of the world wine scene.

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Oct 20, 2020

New Heraklion Tourism Guide to Show Travelers ‘Where Crete Begins’

A new multilingual tourism guide, focusing on the experiences travelers can live in Heraklion on Crete, will soon be available to visitors, according to the city’s municipality.

Named “Heraklion, where Crete begins”, the new guide will aim to renew the city’s brand based on the municipality’s updated tourism marketing strategy.

The new printed material will be available in English, Greek, German, Russian and Italian.

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Oct 16, 2020

Halkidiki’s Aristotle Municipality to Complete Trekking Paths Network in 2021

A network of trekking paths covering a large part of the Municipality of Aristotle in Halkidiki, central Macedonia, is expected to be available to residents and visitors by April 2021.

The announcement was made by Aristotle Mayor Stylianos Valianos during a recent presentation of the area’s trekking routes and local infrastructure to tourism professionals.

During the event, Valianos also presented the municipality’s special electronic guide, “Trekking: Life is an adventure”, that offers useful information in the English language, on the area’s 13 historic hiking routes covering 100km.

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Oct 16, 2020

Covid-19: Crete is Off the UK’s Quarantine List

The island of Crete in Greece has been added to the UK’s “travel corridor”, meaning that travelers arriving from the Greek island as of Sunday, October 18, will no longer have to isolate, according to the updated travel advice for Greece by the Foreign Office (FCDO).

“The island of Crete is now exempt from the FCDO advice against all non-essential travel. This is based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks,” the Foreign Office said.

The Greek island of Mykonos, however, still remains on the quarantine list which obliges travelers arriving from the island to self-isolate for 14 days.

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Oct 16, 2020

UK, German Travelers Drive September Tourism to Greece

UK and German travelers gave Greece the thumbs up in September despite Covid-19 and international travel restriction confusion, according to the latest data released by Greek regional airports manager Fraport Greece.

More specifically, 213,875 holidaymakers from the UK and 190,293 from Germany visited Greek destinations in September. Completing the top five source markets for the month were Poland, France and Austria.

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Oct 15, 2020

Next Step for Symi Island: Sustainable Tourism Upgrade

Creating the conditions that will define Symi as a destination with a strong environmental footprint and investing in digital infrastructure are key to establishing the Greek island on the tourism map, said Deputy Tourism Minister Manos Konsolas this week.

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Oct 15, 2020

Athens Municipality Embraces Street Art

A large colorful mural was recently created on a pedestrian street near the center of Athens by five Greek and Italian street artists who worked together with the aim to breath life into the urban landscape.

Located on Thessalonikis street, the mural is 30 meters long and was jointly created by Greek artists Blaqk, Jamer, Kez, Same84 and Italian 2501. The street art creation was held under the auspices of the Athens Municipality.

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Oct 15, 2020

Strike in Greece to Affect Flights of AEGEAN and Olympic Air on October 15 & 16

AEGEAN and Olympic Air have announced flight cancellations and reschedules for October 15-16 due to the participation of air traffic control personnel in the general strike on Thursday called by Greece’s main public sector umbrella union ADEDY.

As a result of the 24-hour general strike (8am – 8am local time), AEGEAN and Olympic Air are obliged to cancel all domestic and international flights which were due to operate on Thursday, October 15, with the exception of A3 929 and A3 931.

Due to the duration of the strike, all flight sectors on Friday, October 16, until 8am, will be cancelled and 15 flight sectors will be rescheduled.

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Oct 15, 2020

Strikes to Disrupt Air Travel in Greece on Thursday

Greece’s air traffic electronic engineers and air traffic control personnel, tomorrow (Thursday, October 15), will participate in a 24-hour strike called by Greece’s main public sector umbrella union ADEDY.

The strike is expected to affect flights in and out of the country throughout the day.

In the meantime, flights in Greece are also expected to be impacted on Sunday and Monday, October 18-19, due to work stoppages by the Greek Air Traffic Controllers Association (EEEKE), the Federation of Associations of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (OSYPA) and the Union of Electronic Engineers for Air Traffic Safety (ENIMAEK).

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Oct 14, 2020

Greece Extends Covid-19 Travel Regulations Until October 25

The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) on Tuesday announced that Greece is extending all announced travel restrictions until Sunday, October 25, as part of the Greek government’s efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.

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Oct 14, 2020

Bettany Hughes Begins Filming of ‘Wonders of Greece’

British historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes recently landed in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to start filming the “Wonders of Greece”, her latest TV project that is dedicated to the wonders of the country.

A popular TV presenter, Hughes’ shows have been broadcast by BBC, Channel 4, Netflix, Discovery, Channel 5, PBS, The History Channel, National Geographic, BBC World and ITV, attracting over 250 million viewers worldwide during the last years.

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Oct 14, 2020

Astypalea Could Lead the Way to Greece’s ‘Green’ Transition

As part of Greece’s drive to transition into a greener economy, the Greek Tourism Ministry said the island of Astypalea could be the starting point.

“The Dodecanese island can serve as an example of this transition,” said Deputy Tourism Minister Manos Konsolas during a three-day ecology conference held on Astypalea recently.

In this direction, Konsolas said Astypalea can work to re-brand as a wellness destination focusing on three key areas: maintaining quality and attracting higher-income travelers; implementing sustainable practices; and promoting alternative forms of tourism.

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Oct 13, 2020

Special Virtual Athens Marathon 2020 Announced for November

Following the cancellation of this year’s “Athens Marathon. The Authentic”, the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS) and the organizing committee have announced that they will hold a virtual edition of the event during November 8-22.

“Taking into consideration that a large number of runners were getting ready for the annual Athens Marathon event, we’ve decided to offer them the chance to take part in something new and very different in the Covid-19 era: the Virtual Athens Marathon 2020,” SEGAS said.

During November 8-22, participants will be able to run a 5- or 10km distance anywhere – on the street, in a park or their treadmill, whenever and for as many times as they wish to improve their time and ranking.

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Oct 12, 2020

Greece Mulls Making Face Masks Mandatory in View of Covid-19 Surge

Face masks may soon be compulsory everywhere as Greek authorities consider additional measures to address a recent spike in Covid-19 cases, despite reassurances that new measures will not be introduced.

Speaking on SKAI TV, Government Spokesman Stelios Petsas did leave open the possibility of the mask requirement as well as the extension of bar, café and restaurant opening hours to 1am from the current midnight.

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