Slow tourism start on Greek island but businesses optimistic

KOKKARI, Greece (AP) — The picturesque seaside village of Kokkari on the Greek island of Samos is unusually quiet for this time of year. Sunbeds on its long pebble beach lie mostly empty; customers in the shops are few and far between.

About a month after Greece officially opened to international visitors, the uncertainty of travel during a pandemic is still taking its toll on the country’s vital tourist industry.

Greece’s travel receipts fell more than 75% last year compared with 2019, dropping from 18.2 billion euros to 4.3 billion euros. The government says it hopes to reach half the 2019 visitor level this year.

But the season's start has been slow. Business owners are putting on a brave face, opening hotels, shops and restaurants, hoping the season will pick up as the summer wears on, vaccine drives speed up and confidence in travel increases.

Greece was one of the first European Union countries to declare itself open to tourism this year, allowing visitors in from mid-May with either a negative coronavirus test, proof of vaccination or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19. Apart from accepting EU-approved vaccine certificates, it also recognizes China's and Russia's vaccines.

But in a shifting landscape where countries’ travel rules for their own nationals keep changing, the uncertainty has made many hesitant to make holiday bookings.

“The situation is really liquid right now,” said Alexandros Malagaris, who runs two hotels and a scuba diving center in Kokkari. “Of course, tourism is very sensitive to everything that happens in the world, and the pandemic is a really serious situation.”

Although demand at his dive center was already high, hotel bookings were low. “But we are confident that come July they will pick up,” he said. “We are already looking forward...