Brit Expats On Corfu Divided Over Opening Up

British expats on Corfu are not overjoyed by the government’s air bridge tourism start-up.

In all of Greece, the island of Corfu is the most popular with foreign tourists and has suffered economically from the coronavirus pandemic. However, expats and citizens alike aren’t best thrilled at the prospect of hordes of Europeans arriving and bringing a second wave with them. The holiday island has been open for some seven days to date and is struggling to recapture its norm, but the thought of flights bringing in hordes of Brits is causing both consternation and anger in the expat population.

Greece seems to have won the battle against the pandemic, at least for now, due to its early use of lockdowns and its community’s determination to return to normal as fast as was possible. The death count is static at 190, as against the UK’s shocking 42,632, making it easy to understand its population’s reluctance to let Brits come anywhere near Corfu or the rest of the archipelago and its mainland. Touted as one of Europe’s safest locations for a summer holiday, its residents would prefer it to stay that way, even if more financial difficulties are the result.

Expats and locals operating in the tourism sector are especially concerned, as many believe not enough visitors will arrive to make opening up a viable proposition. Also, visitors from hard-hit countries such as the UK are far more likely to bring the virus with them due to the unsatisfactory result of the UK’s anti-pandemic measures. Corfu’s expat community is mainly British, with some convinced tourist arrivals are the worst possible news and others supporting opening up as they’ve their businesses to consider.