Britons hoping to go on holiday after lockdown eases can think about booking a getaway to Greece for mid-May.
Greece is planning on welcoming foreign tourists from 14 May depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
People living in England could be allowed to go on foreign holidays from 17 May under Boris Johnson’s road map for easing coronavirus restrictions.
But holidaymakers will be required to have had a vaccine and a recent negative coronavirus test or have coronavirus antibodies, the country’s tourism minister said.
“We are approaching the exit from this dark tunnel thanks to the power of the human spirit and the progress of science,” Haris Theoharis said.
“Please allow me to emphasise that no image could better portray the return to the normality of tourism than the Greek smile, the Greek landscape, the Greek hospitality.”
He continued: “Regarding 2021, in Greece we are more than optimistic.
“We are ready, we are ready to share the experience of liberation from the unpleasant memories of the pandemic with each and every one of our guests.”
He said a “pilot” reopening of borders is likely to take place early next month, he added.
Last week, Mr Theoharis said the country was prioritising giving the COVID vaccine to the inhabitants of around 40 small islands.
The islands, which each have a population of less than 1,000 people, include Halki near Rhodes, Kastellorizo off the Turkish coast, Meganisi in the Ionian Sea and Kythira in the Peloponnese peninsula, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Larger destinations such as Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu will be targeted once Greece’s tiniest islands have been vaccinated, the newspaper said.
Greece is one of the most popular summer destinations for UK holidaymakers – with Britons typically making more than three million visits to the country each year, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.