In an interview with ANT-1, Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis said he found the data “encouraging” and spoke optimistically about this year’s tourist season in Greece.

“At the regional airports, we are about 55% to 60% of 2019 and at the Athens airport in the last few days we have reached 65% of 2019,” Theoharis said. “The data are encouraging for the time being.”

In the first 10 days of July in the city of Heraklion, Crete, the airport reached 83% of the tourist arrivals it had in 2019, the minister said.

Theoharis said that Greece is atop this year’s list of summer destinations, especially for French and American visitors, adding that his country’s pandemic-era image “has improved.”

COVID-19 cases have increased in recent days as the Greek government announced new virus measures — something which Theoharis says officials will continue to do as needed.

“The increase of cases must be closely monitored,” he said. “We will take whatever measures are needed, because we do not want other countries to be quarantined. If the increase in cases continues, there is no way we can save it.”

For seasonal workers and tourism companies, the minister said the government would support both businesses and employees in every way possible.

Featured image: Passengers arriving from Germany and Switzerland stand with their luggage outside the terminal of the Heraklion airport, as the country’s tourism season officially opens, on the island of Crete, Greece, May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis