Domestic tourism subsidy program tripled

This year the number of social tourism voucher recipients will be more than twice as high as last year in a program that will cost the Manpower Organization (OAED) three times the state's contribution in 2019, allowing employed and unemployed Greeks alike to enjoy low-cost holidays.

Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis and OAED director Spyros Protopsaltis presented the new social tourism program on Wednesday and revealed that its total budget is 30 million euros - against €10 million in previous years - which shows the government's determination to support domestic tourism.

The 2020-21 program, expected to begin on August 1, is seen covering 300,000 beneficiaries, up from 140,000 a year earlier. At the same time the vouchers for the 2019-20 season will also be valid up until the end of October, after it was decided that the 113,000 social tourism vouchers that hadn't been...