Bookings surge as Greece set to reopen on May 14 – with 70% occupancy for some hotels in May and June

GREECE holidays are booming in demand following plans for tourists to return from May 14.

Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis made the announcement about the holiday hotspot opening its borders to foreign travellers this afternoon.

Addressing ITB 2021 - the world’s largest tourism trade fair - Mr Theoharis said the country had decided to adopt the slogan: “All you want is Greece.”

“This year and forever ‘all you want is Greece,’” he told delegates attending the conference in Berlin virtually.

“For the smile to return to your lips, with the hope you will take your life back all you want is Greece,” he said.  

This has seen Brits in their hoards book a holiday for the summer.

Hotel OKU Kos is now 70 per cent full for May and June due to demand, while Sunvill managing director Chris Wright said holiday bookings are "closer to pre-pandemic levels".

Simon Lynch, Sales Director at Scott Dunn said: "Summer optimism for the European beach break has been buoyed by the rapid vaccine roll-out across the UK and recent news that countries like Greece and Cyprus will welcome vaccinated travellers come May.

"Over 70 per cent of all our bookings over the past week have been for Europe."

Tour operators including Jet2, TUI and easyJet have seen a boom in holidays, including to Greece, in recent weeks.

Jet2 saw demand rocket by 1,000 per cent which easyJet demand was up seven-fold which included to the Greek island of Crete.

Mr Theoharis has waged a charm offensive in recent weeks, telling the UK that Athens is particularly eager to welcome jabbed Brits as it brings together its own vaccine passport scheme.

Greece and the UK are currently in talks over forging an agreement that would allow travellers with vaccination certificates to enter the country without the need for quarantine or Covid tests.

Brits without the vaccine passport will still be able to visit, but will face travel restrictions.

It is also worth remembering that the UK government has not given an official date for when foreign holidays can resume.

While there are hopes that the UK non-essential travel ban will be lifted from May 17, at the earliest, it may be later in the year.

Here is everything you need to know about travelling to Greece.

Brits should book holidays to the smaller islands in Greece as they are likely to be vaccinated before the other, more popular islands.

We've rounded up some of the best Greece holiday deals.