Greece is offering cheaper flights to visitors by cutting transportation taxes this summer

• Greece plans to reopen to tourists on June 15, when international flights to Athens and Thessaloniki are expected to resume.
• International flights to Athens are already allowed, but with mandatory testing and quarantine in place, while non-EU citizens are prohibited from visiting for nonessential travel.
• From June 15, many travelers will be subject to random testing but travelers from a list of high-risk places will face mandatory testing and potential quarantine, according to the Hellenic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• This may change on July 1, when international flights to all Greek airports are scheduled to resume.
• To attract tourists, Greece plans to temporarily cut taxes on transportation almost in half, with VAT being reduced from 24% to 13%, in order to make travel to and within Greece cheaper.

Greece is among the growing number of countries offering tourists an incentive to visit, with the nation's prime minister announcing in May that taxes on transportation — including flights to the country — will be reduced.

Greece, which has been widely praised for its swift response to the pandemic and thus saw relatively low infection rates, originally said it would welcome back tourists on July 1, but moved that date up to June 15, when international flights to Athens and Thessaloniki are expected to resume.

Currently, international flights are going into Athens only, with mandatory testing and quarantine in place for all arrivals. Until June 14, "non-EU citizens are banned from entering Greece for non-essential travel, which includes tourism," with some exceptions, according to the US Embassy & Consulate in Greece.

From June 15, only travelers from high-risk areas, as defined by this list from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), will face required COVID-19 testing upon arrival. The list includes the US and UK.

According to a statement published May 30 on the Hellenic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, visitors from places on this list entering Greece must spend the night in a designated hotel to await their results. Depending on the outcome of the test, travelers will either have to self-isolate for a week, or quarantine under supervision for two weeks.

Travelers from areas not on this list will be subject to random testing after June 15.

These regulations will likely be in place until July 1, when international flights to all of Greece's airports are expected to be allowed once more. Whether travelers from high-risk countries would still face the same restrictions then will be announced later, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to CNN, tourism makes up almost 20% of Greece's gross domestic product and one in four jobs. In order to attract more tourists and to minimize the pandemic's economic impact, the BBC reported in May that the Greek government plans to temporarily cut value added taxes (VAT) on all modes of transportation from 24% to 13%, thus making travel to and within Greece cheaper.

The country's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the announcement in a televised address on May 20, saying: "We will win the economy war just as we won the health battle."

However, while most travel restrictions within Europe have been lifted, nonessential travel is currently not recommended in many places, such as in the US, where the Centers for Disease Control warns against it. If you do choose to travel, it's best to check the CDC's travel recommendations for each country.

According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Greece saw 3,049 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 182 related deaths.

Greece started easing out of lockdown on May 4. It has since begun reopening retail stores, shopping malls, beauty salons, archaeological sites, and year-round hotels, as well as outdoor areas at restaurants, cafés, and bars.

Indoor dining rooms may open on June 15, according to the Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, with tables set at least 2 feet apart and no more than six guests per table. The country also plans to reopen museums and seasonal hotels and resume cultural events on June 15.

According to the US Embassy & Consulate in Greece, social distancing is in effect, and masks are mandatory on public transportation, in elevators, and in hospitals, but only recommended in other enclosed spaces. And according to a CNN report from May, Mitsotakis said that temperature checks will be implemented in hotels and restaurants.

However, it's worth noting that Greece's reopening plans for international arrivals are subject to change, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more information on the status of travel in Greece, visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the US Embassy & Consulate in Greece.

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