Group of 189 Dutch Citizens Land in Greece for a Test Holiday
A group of 189 Dutch tourists has flown to the Greek island of Rhodes for an eight-day test holiday organised by the Sunweb travel organisation and the cost-effective airline Transavia in conjunction with the Dutch Government to assess if safe holidays can be organised during the pandemic.
The 189 Dutch tourists, who traded lockdown in the Netherlands for eight days in a Greek hotel, were chosen from a group of 25,000 applicants, AtoZSerwisPlus.Com reports.
Aged from 18 to 70, the group of tourists was chosen with the help of a notary in order to make sure that a diverse group, with all age groups represented, is being sent to Greece for this experiment.
“We want to know how we can improve our communication and actions to make the trip as safe and pleasant as possible for the tourists,” the managing director of Transavia Marcel de Nooijer said, commenting on the test holiday experiment.
The chosen applicants will be staying at the Mitsis Grand Beach Hotel and will not be allowed to leave the resort area, not even for a walk on the beach or to socialise with other guests. Strict social distancing rules will be imposed.
However, they will get all-inclusive access to restaurants, pools, and other facilities that the resort offers.
According to Sunweb’s chief executive Mattjis ten Brink, this all-inclusive test holiday should provide the travel industry with detailed information on how to go on holidays safely while the COVID-19 and its mutations are still prevailing.
The chosen participants have all undergone a PCR and a rapid test prior to boarding the plane, and they will be required to quarantine when they return to the Netherlands.
During their eight-day period in the resort, the holidaymakers will be required to complete surveys, and two scientists will observe their behaviours without any other interference.
In relation to this, de Nooijer said that in order to gather more information regarding travelling during a pandemic, the data should be gathered through a natural situation. According to him, this test holiday will provide helpful information on how to enjoy a safe holiday next summer.
Nevertheless, the residents of Rhodes had mixed feelings towards this experiment. Giannis Chalikias, the general manager of restaurants on the island, said that local restaurant businesses will not be able to benefit from such a scheme.
“It’s the first experiment, certainly there’ll be a second and a third, and at some point things can return to how they were,” Chalikias added.
Previously, Greece authorities announced that the country will reopen to tourists on May 14, and not long after that announcement, Greece’s Tourism Minister introduced the country’s action plan to revitalise the tourism sector during this year.
In contrast, the Dutch authorities decided to extend the advice against travelling abroad for its citizens until May 15, after considering the current COVID-19 situation in other countries.
