Desperate to avoid a repeat of last year’s tourist season, hit by the coronavirus epidemic, Greece is pushing for vaccinations and Covid passports. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he wants the whole of the EU to introduce certificates that would fast track travel for citizens who had the vaccine.

Mitsotakis warned, though, that mass vaccination in EU member states is just now beginning. Greece is issuing certificates that contain digital data and a QR code to allow movement across the country to those who are vaccinated, and wants the same for the tourists it expects in the summer.

For Macedonian tourists, the vaccines likely won’t come in time. The Macedonian Government still hasn’t been able to procure a single dose, and attempts to get donated vaccines from Bulgaria and later Serbia have so far been unsuccessful. Greece is the main destination for Macedonian tourists but last season it was completely off limits, and with the current speed of vaccinations, it likely will be next year as well.