Service industries

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has congratulated three labor confederations for signing a joint declaration and said no one should be left without jobs during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Greece is mulling the introduction of further restrictions to public movement to contain the spread of coronavirus, extending a broad lockdown announced last week after a recent surge in violations, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Wednesday.

A stringent ban on circulation with came into effect on Monday morning, as the government toughened measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in Greece that has killed 17 and infected 624.

In its first measure regarding the tourism sector beyond financial support for employees due to the Coronavirus pandemic , who are included in horizontal measures to support labour, the government has ordered the closure of seasonal Greek hotels and other tourist facilities through 30 August, though the tempest for tourism is expected to drag through the summer tourist season.

Online bookings for short-term holiday rentals in Athens have declined by some 70 percent in recent days due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Sector professionals say that "it's like we are still in January, although we are heading toward the Easter holidays." It appears that April will be even worse, given the increasing measures against traveling and gatherings in most European countries.

Cancellations of bookings at Greek hotels for the months after April are coming thick and fast, while major tour operators such as Tui are citing "force majeure" for its suspension of payments and the list of cruise operators and airlines canceling their plans is growing.

About 6,000 people are blocked on a cruise ship in Cozumel, Mexico, to be tested for the new coronavirus, BTA reported.

The MSC Meraviglia ship was allowed to dock in Mexico, a day after MSC Cruises expressed dismay that authorities in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands had refused its cruise liner. This happened after a crew member was diagnosed with the flu.

The number of properties up for short-term lease in Greece has soared from just 130 in 2010 to over 200,000 by the end of 2019, according to a survey by the Center of Planning and Economic Research. Despite the huge changes this surge has brought to the property market, however, the regulatory framework has resisted change and adjustment to reality.

The Swiss Education Group on Tuesday announced the addition of two more courses to its hotel management programs in Switzerland, which are also open to Greek citizens: the Diploma in Vegetarian Culinary Arts, in two terms totaling 22 weeks, and the two-week Certificate in Wine Business Management.

In December 2019, there were 2,024 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, campsites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short stay with more than 10 bed-places, the National Statistical Institute said in a press release.