As of Friday, May 14, the Greek government did not make a decision on allowing Ukrainian citizens to enter the country for tourist purposes, the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece reported.
“As of May 14, 2021, the Greek government has not made a decision on the entry of Ukrainian citizens into Greece for tourist purposes!” the embassy said on its page on Friday.
The embassy informed that changes in the regime of entry of Ukrainian citizens to Greece will be immediately posted on the website and Facebook page of the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece.
As reported, in mid-April, the Greek authorities canceled the compulsory quarantine for travelers from the EU and the Schengen area. In addition, the quarantine was canceled for those entering from the UK, U.S., UAE, Serbia and Israel.
Thanks to the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in respecting the rights and safety of tourists between Ukraine and Turkey, the parties will be able to simplify the border crossing rules for citizens of both states, as well as increase the number of flights between the countries, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday.
“This declaration, in particular, makes it possible to simplify border crossing rules for citizens of both states, exchange vaccination systems, increase the number of flights between countries, expand the availability of tourist audio guides in Ukrainian and Turkish, and develop cooperation to attract investment in tourism and resorts,” the Prime Minister said on Facebook.
He recalled that the document was signed by Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko during a meeting with Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
As reported, on April 27, Ukraine and Turkey signed a memorandum on strengthening cooperation in the tourism sector.
The most popular destinations for the May holidays were the Egyptian resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam, the Antalya and Aegean coasts of Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, sales director of the tour operator Join UP! Maryna Daineko told Interfax-Ukraine.
For the May holidays Join UP! added point flights to Antalya, primarily from Kyiv.
“We are launching all other flights of the flight program to Turkey (from May 2 Dalaman, later Bodrum and Izmir) in the planned volume,” Daineko said.
According to her, Albania, Montenegro and Cyprus are actively booking by Ukrainians for the May holidays. At the same time, the company noted a sufficient revival in the direction of excursion tourism.
“Those who are interested in a rich historical, excursion and gastronomic program choose tours to Georgia, Armenia and the direction little-known by Ukrainians – Serbia,” Daineko said.
According to her, in general, Join UP! records an increase in demand by 25% to 30% for trips abroad on May holidays, as well as an increase in booking depth.
“If in 2019 Ukrainians ordered a tour on average 27 days before departure, then in 2020 this period was halved, to 13 days. In 2021, Ukrainians adapted to the new realities and began to actively plan and book holidays in Turkey and other countries for both May and summer,” Daineko said.
The company said that in all countries tourists will need a negative PCR test done no later than 72 hours before departure.
“The conditions of entry and return to Ukraine often change, so we recommend that you check the current information with a travel agent before booking the morning and departure,” Daineko said.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal instructed to work out ways to enhance tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“Ukrainians are on the list of numerous tourists in Turkey, and the geography of their rest is constantly expanding. Therefore, we must consider the possibility of expanding communication, including organizing additional flights on popular routes at weekends, as well as opening communication with new cities,” the governmental press service said, citing Shmyhal.
The prime minister also said that favorable conditions should be developed to attract tourists from Turkey to Ukraine.
“In addition to large cities, it is worth considering the possibility of developing directions to sanatorium resorts that will be interesting for traveling with the whole family,” he said.
For his part, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Andrii Sybiha said the Ukrainian cities of Kamianets-Podilsky and Khotyn may be interesting for tourists from Turkey.
The meeting participants also discussed the possibility of mutual recognition between Ukraine and Turkey of future health certificates that are being developed in the European Union, which will help significantly increase the flow of tourists between states during a pandemic.
“Following the meeting, Denys Shmyhal instructed the relevant departments to study the issue of the possibility of increasing regular and charter flights between Ukraine and Turkey and consider ways to simplify the system of visiting Ukraine by vaccinated Turkish citizens,” the ministry said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the importance of intensive development of tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“It is very important that we, [Erdogan] and I are talking about special conditions for Ukrainian and Turkish tourists, citizens. We talked about the need to really increase the level of tourism for Ukrainians and Turkish citizens. This is very important. I think especially now we have to support each other,” Zelensky said following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on Thursday, April 15.
“Erdogan supports our independence, our sovereignty. You heard that Russia said it would restrict tourists or tourism from the Russian Federation to Turkey. It’s their business. And I think that, on the contrary, we need to increase and show that we support Turkey,” Zelensky said.
Also, according to Zelensky, during a meeting with Erdogan in Turkey on April 10, “a number of important documents were signed between Ukraine and Turkey, but support for Ukrainian sovereignty is much more important.”
“But the most important thing today, when we talk about the geopolitical issue, the issue of peace in Ukraine and the support of our partners, it is important that President Erdogan supports Ukraine, supports our temporarily occupied territories, supports Crimea. It is important that he supports our position: he does not recognize annexation of Crimea,” the head of state said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine intends to terminate the agreement with the government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of tourism.
The corresponding draft decision was published in the agenda of the government meeting on Wednesday.
This agreement was signed in Kyiv on July 16, 1999.
It is noted that this decision will be made due to the fact that due to Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, actual cooperation in this area has been suspended, and there are no prospects for establishing such cooperation in the future.
