Greece Welcomes Tourists

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

island	head (3)	heading back
arrive	relatively	remain (2)
yet	gear up	lockdown
enjoy	post (3)	colleague
cruise	gear (2)	come back
ban	compare	come/came/come
jet set	strange	live music
loss	income	vaccinate
tour	revenue	lose/lost/lost
hope	harbor	begin/began/begun
earn	charter	sustainability
price	tough (2)	campaign (2)
attract	have fun	mass tourism
port	mass (3)	balance (2)
respect	receive	send/sent/sent
huge	resident	get/got/got
local	situation	go/went/gone (3)
offer	priority	organize (2)
jab	exclusive	cruise ship

 
 
 
 
 

Video: Tourism in Greece

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Tourists are heading back. It can’t be compared to May two years ago, but still, Mykonos remains relatively quiet. Foreign guests haven’t arrived yet.

But Europeans are gearing up for their post-lockdown freedom to travel.

Female Tourist, one: “I’m on vacation in Mykonos with a colleague. We’ve worked in the same hospital. And we’ve had a tough year because of covid. Now, we just want to relax.”

Live music is still banned in restaurants and bars.

The party jet-set hasn’t come back yet. It’s not only a financial loss.

Lampros Koitsanos, Tour Manager: “Generally, in Mykonos, every bar is a party island. We are partying a lot and everyone is coming here to have fun, and to be connected with more people.

So this is a very strange situation for all of us.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

Businesses here lost seventy percent (70%) of their income in 2020. In 2021, they can only hope for at least half of what they earned last year.

The season has just begun. Special prices are attracting families, as well as those who want to enjoy quiet time.

This hotel at the old harbor has been open since February. People here are happy about the tourist who don’t come to party.

Sotiria Moschou, Hotel Owner: “We have a first charter from Doha and we see a lot of people that don’t just look for parties, but they also look for the beauty of the island, and the good services of the island.”

Last year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis campaigned for less mass tourism and more sustainability in Greece.

For islands like Mykonos, which exclusively from tourism, it’s a difficult balance.

Konstantinos Koukas, Mykonos Mayor: “We want to receive a lot of tourists, of course, because Mykonos has a huge tourism industry. But we want to do it with respect to the nature of the island, the color of the island, and the life of the residents.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

Most people here are getting vaccinated. Sabine Lutt-Zachos offers tours of the island. She’s happy that people here are getting the jab.

Sabine Lutt-Zachos, Tour Operator: “In the beginning, the priority went by age. This week, they are starting to vaccinate everyone else. It started very early here, and has been very well organized.”

Parties safe, the locals here hope that everything stays that way, especially when port visits from cruise ships start again.

Until then, visitors can experience a completely different Mykonos, one that’s romantically quiet.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

Bar. The situation in 2021 on Mykonos, Greece is the same as it was in 2019. True or false?

Cafe. Will all potential tourists stay at home and not travel during the summer?

Disco. Does the female tourist have an easy life in her home country?

Nightclub. The jet-set love to explore nature, go hiking, swimming, scuba-diving and touring. Is this right or wrong? What do they like to do?

Hotel. Do most of the local Mykonosians want more party-animal tourists?

Guesthouse. The island of Mykonos has a diverse economy, consisting of agriculture, fishing, high-tech, cheese, wine as well as tourism. Is this correct or incorrect?

Harbor, Port. Is Sabine the tour operator optimistic (hopeful) or pessimistic (doubtful) about tourism on Mykonos?
 
 
 
Road, Street. I am from Greece. I live in Greece. I have met people in my city from Greece. Yes or no?

Tour Bus, Charter Bus. Have you or your friends visited Greece? If yes, what is it like there? Describe Greece.

Beach, Sea, Ocean. Do many people visit Greece? Why do many tourists go to Greece?

Tour, Tour Guide. Many people visit my city and country. True or false? Where do they come from? What do they do?

Island. My friends and I would like to live in Greece.

Mainland. Would and your friends like to work in a hotel, guesthouse, restaurant, bar, club, disco, or travel agency or tour company?

Ferryboat. What might happen in the future?

Cruise Liner, Cruise Ship. What should people and governments do?