Hotel restaurants will not be permitted to open neither on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, nor on New Year’s Eve and the New Year’s Day, Greece’s Development Ministry said on Wednesday.
Reason for this decision was that several hotels advertised on social media for “reveillon and festive fine dine” during these four festive days provided the guests would book a room. among them was one of the biggest hotels in Athens.
The General Secretariat for Commerce and Consumer Protection, a branch of the development ministry, said on Wednesday that “hotels will only be permitted to provide guests with room service in their hotel rooms.”
A relevant joint ministerial decision will be issued within the next few days, the General Secretariat added.
Now the hoteliers are angry, saying that they managed to operate with safety during the summer months when the country opened its gates to tourism.
Under the pandemic lockdown restrictions imposed since November 7 across the country, restaurants, bar, cafeterias and similar facilities are closed. The restrictions are in force until January 7, 2021.
Hotel restaurants are allowed to operate, however, holding reveillons would not only lead to possible crowding but also to “unfair competition.”
