Any Germans visiting Greece will no longer have to quarantine upon their return home, provided they have been fully vaccinated or have a negative Covid test or a certificate of full recovery from the disease, according to a German cabinet decision on Wednesday.

This is a very positive step for Greece, but also for rival tourism destinations such as Spain.

Germany constitutes the biggest market for visitors to Greece, with arrivals topping 4 million in the record year of 2019 (4,026 million) and revenues adding up to 2.96 billion euros. In 2020, despite the pandemic, Greece received 1.526 million German tourists, who spent €1.13 billion.

Tomorrow, May 14, sees the start of incoming flights from Germany operated by major tour operator TUI AG, which has planned a total of 120 flights to this country by the end of the month, although that figure may grow further.

What’s more, as long as Greece’s coronavirus picture keeps improving and Moscow doesn’t announce any unexpected political decisions, Greek government officials also expect charter flights from Russia to resume as of late May.

This article was first published on ekathimerini.com.