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Greece will most likely remain closed to Serbian tourists even after September 15, says Aleksandar Senicic, director of the Utah National Association of Travel Agencies, which practically means that Serbs will not see the Greek sea this year.
The paradox is that Serbia has a much better epidemiological situation than, say, Romania and Bulgaria, whose citizens can go to Greece.
Yesterday, there were 72 new cases in Serbia, while in Romania there were 1,311 and in Bulgaria 4,336! But even that is not enough for Serbian citizens to finally go on a summer vacation to Greece.
Senicic pointed out to Kurir that he would not be surprised if the Greek border continues to be closed to citizens of Serbia, but that we should still await the official decision from Athens.
– Everything indicates that we will not be able to go to Greece even after September 15, regardless of the epidemiological circumstances that are still relatively good in Serbia. Tourists from EU countries can come to Greece, and these include Romania and Bulgaria, countries that have a worse epidemiological situation than Serbia. Politics is obviously dominant – said Senicic.
Chancellor Ivica Dacic told Kurir that there were no official documents from Athens.
– Greece works to your detriment. We still have no official announcement of the opening of the border – emphasized Dacic.
Even if the official Athens opens its borders on September 15 for our citizens, Senicic says it should not be expected that it will not happen without PCR testing.
– The damage to the agencies at the moment can be measured in tens of millions of euros, and throughout the season in hundreds of millions of euros, how much money our citizens have captured in arrangements just for Greece. The most important thing is to protect the money that our citizens paid through travel agencies for trips to Greece, something they were unable to do this year, Seničić said.
He added that we can use that money over the next year or make a refund only in early 2022:
– It could happen that the Greek partners do not work with our agencies next year, regardless of whether they have received the money and may decide to cooperate with partners from other countries, and that they return the money to us only in 2022.
Questionable and business travel
If only tourist workers came in
Senicic pointed out that the possibility is being sought for business trips to be approved in the following period:
– The time has come to talk until the end of the season and to solve these problems on the spot. So far, we have not had any success, we will continue with that at the beginning of the week, putting pressure on the Greek embassy, to find a model under which Serbian citizens who are engaged in tourism can enter Greece. I believe that a model will be found in the next ten days for colleagues to enter Greece and solve problems by talking.
Milos Jovovic, “Travelland”
The Greeks would drive a nail through the chest of their agencies
The director of the travel agency “Travelland”, Miloš Jovović, told Kurir that if the borders with Greece are still closed, it will have a negative effect on the travel agency business in Serbia.
– The hotels are open, they are waiting for our tourists, we pay for that. My partners from Greece have called me and they believe and are sure that the border will be opened soon. On top of all that, we have fewer infected people than in the whole of Europe, and there is no reason not to open the borders – says Jovović.
He adds that he is not an expert in assessing the epidemiological situation in Greece, but that Greek hoteliers await the opening of a ramp for tourists from Serbia.
– Tourism is in big trouble, this would be a nail in the box for many agencies and hoteliers in Greece, who are waiting for Serbian tourists, there is no reason for kovida not to open the borders – estimates Jovović.
Angry about closed borders
Strike in front of the embassy
Although the owner of one of the largest Serbian travel agencies, his employees and clients announced on Friday a hunger strike and a blockade of the Greek embassy in Belgrade, the protest was postponed until the official decision of the Greek authorities. Yesterday morning, they were supposed to appear in front of Greece’s diplomatic mission, but after consultations with the Serbian Foreign Ministry, it was agreed that the protest would move until the final decision is made from Athens.
Here’s how many are infected
Country / Infected in the last 24 hours / Active / Population
Serbia 72,469 8,730,219
Greece 287 8,907 10,412,690
Romania 1,311 55,448 19,211,470
Bulgaria 201 4,537 6,937,739
Photo / Source: Shutterstock / Kristina Vasković
delivery courier
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