Chania (Greece) (AFP)

In front of the paradisiacal lagoon of Balos in Crete, German tourists cannot believe their eyes: "It's wonderful here, it's the return to normal life, before the Covid": Greece reopened its tourist season on Friday , and simultaneously lifted its seven-month confinement, hoping to outpace its European competitors.

"We are weighing anchor," said Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis, officially launching the season Thursday evening from the ancient temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, near Athens.

"We are leaving behind the dark clouds of fear and insecurity," he promised, speaking of "a great impatience of foreign tourists" to come and enjoy the bright sun and the turquoise sea.

In Crete, three German friends are already raving about the idyllic beach of Balos, about fifty km from Chania, and are delighted to have "the opportunity to travel again".

"The restaurants are open, you can go to the beach, you can enjoy the good weather, you can do some shopping, it's wonderful to be able to go out again", exclaims Caroline Falk, a hostess at the looks 28 years old.

"Greece is a country without quarantine", welcomes his companion Benedict Geiven, and "the flight is fast from Germany", "which is why we spontaneously chose to come here".

Confined since November 7, Greece lifted all traffic restrictions overnight, on land and at sea, for the return of tourists.

No more ban on leaving your department or going to an island without being a resident, no more exit authorizations by SMS, no more police checks and fines.

Museums all over Greece also reopen on Friday.

The only condition now for travel: to be vaccinated or to present a negative Covid test.

The government maintains that mass screening combined with vaccination will allow safe travel.

- Islands vaccinated at the end of June -

In anticipation of the big day, the Greek authorities have vaccinated the islands as a priority.

A quarter of the population received a first dose.

"All of our islands will be fully protected by the end of June. So far, a third of them have been vaccinated," announced the Minister of Tourism.

"We hope it will be a good season and that people will choose our country and our island," exclaims Alexandros Koukourakis, moving tables and chairs in front of his tavern in Kissamos near Chania.

"We are now closing a difficult period, while maintaining the precautionary measures."

The return of foreigners to Crete, Mykonos or Santorini, among other islands, is crucial for a country which drew nearly a quarter of its income from tourism before the pandemic.

It is in an attempt to raise the bar that Greece has made the bet to reopen its borders in mid-April to vaccinated people and to launch its tourist season before its main European competitors, such as Spain and France.

- Hundreds of international flights -

In Crete, the main Heraklion airport is expecting fifteen flights on Friday and another 24 on Saturday, mostly from Germany.

In total, some 150 international flights are scheduled to airports in Greece on Friday and Saturday.

But the start of the season suffers from a first setback, after the decision of the United Kingdom to maintain the mandatory quarantine on return from Greece.

Greece hopes to appear on London's "green" list soon when the health situation is reassessed.

However, the Aegean island of Kalymnos remains confined due to a high rate of infections.

And more than 2,000 cases of contamination are still recorded daily in Greece, most of them in Athens, and hospitals remain under pressure.

"Epidemiological data and vaccination will depend on our tourist season. As long as there is an ambiguity on the rules applied to each country (...) tourists will not book their holidays", estimates Grigoris Tasios, president of the federation hoteliers.

A quarter of the Greek working population makes a living from tourism.

But with travel restrictions still in place in Europe, Greek hosts do not anticipate significant arrivals before the end of June or early July.

© 2021 AFP