Santorini is one of the Greek Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. It was on the beach of this island that transparent plexiglass (organic glass) booths were first built. Although initially they were planned to be installed in the resorts of Spain and Italy.
Cabins are installed in order to maintain the distance between vacationers from each other. According to the layout, one booth will be 4.5 meters wide and 2 meters long, and inside this structure there will be beach chairs and umbrellas.
The owner of the beach bar, Charlie Chain, expressed his concern about the near future in the tourism sector: he would not like to resort to such forced measures, but he is ready to build transparent booths if they prevent the spread of the viral disease.
The tourism industry is one of the lucrative industries in Greece, which brings 15% of the economy's income and provides jobs for 17% of the population, which is about 900 thousand people.
And in 2021, due to the pandemic, the country lost income from tourism: if last year in June the number of bookings in Santorini hotels was 70%, now it is about 30%.
Andreas Patiniotis, vice-president of the Santorini Hotels Association, noted that it is necessary to start rebuilding the tourism sector so that people involved in this area return to their jobs.
However, according to an online survey by the University of Macedonia, many citizens are concerned that foreign tourists will be able to "bring" the virus to Greece.
93% of 1,073 respondents are in favor of "strict control" at airports and borders, and 74% - for the entry of foreigners into the country only with a certificate, according to which tourists have passed the test for Covid-19. However, such certificates or "health passports" have not yet been introduced, their introduction is only being discussed by representatives of the EU countries.
The university also interviewed the Greeks about where they plan to rest this year: 90% of citizens answered that they will rest within their country and only 3% are "ready to take a chance" and rest abroad.
