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Travel company sends 187 people on eight-day trip to Greece as Covid holiday experiment

12 April 2021, 11:05 | Updated: 12 April 2021, 11:15

A Dutch company is taking 187 people to a resort in Rhodes (stock images). Picture: PA/Getty

A Dutch travel company is taking a group of tourists to a Greek Island to see if tourism is feasible during the coronavirus pandemic.

A travel company is taking almost 200 people to Greece today (April 12) to test how feasible tourism is during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dutch firm Sunweb is taking a group of 187 tourists to the Isle of Rhodes for eight days.

The trip will cost €399 (£344; $472) per person, which will be paid for by the tourists themselves.

The group will not be allowed to leave the resort, and they will have to quarantine for up to 10 days when they return home.

The tourists are heading to the Greek island of Rhodes, but they won't be able to leave the hotel resort (stock image). Picture: Getty

A whopping 25,000 people applied to be part of the experiment, and the tickets were awarded according to who applied first.

Successful participants needed to be between the ages of 18-70, and have no high-risk health conditions, reports the BBC.

Corina Gouderjaan, 51, told Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws why she had applied for a ticket, saying: "First I got corona and got very sick. Then I lost my job. So now what? I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing at a resort and recovering from this turbulent year."

The chosen tourists were tested for Covid-19 before their trip, and they will also be tested after.

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If anyone tests positive for Covid-19 during the trip, they will have to quarantine at a Greek Covid hotel - which will be paid for by the company.

Frank van Oostdam of holiday sector association ANVR told RTL Nieuws: "The Dutch can’t wait to go on holiday abroad again and the industry wants to get going again as well.

"But it has to be done safely and in a coronavirus-proof way. I have total confidence that this initiative will show you can enjoy a carefree holiday with a travel company."

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