Ministers: Tourism operates normally after earthquake on Kos (update)

Damage to the buildings and infrastructure on Kos as a result of the earthquake is relatively minor, with the exception of the island's port, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis announced on Friday afternoon, in a joint press conference with Alternate Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas and Deputy Shipping Minister Nektarios Santorinios. The three ministers arrived on the island at around dawn, to oversee the response to a 6.6-Richter earthquake that struck at 1:32 on Friday morning.

"The island has not suffered damage. The buildings are in very good shape. We don't have damage to infrastructure," Spirtzis noted, while noting that an EMAK emergency rescue team and civil engineers have arrived in Kos to assist the work of municipality civil engineers.

"Upon our arrival there was an inspection of the airport's control tower, which has opened. The only problem found was at the port," the minister added, announcing that ministry staff and National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) professors were making their way to Kos in order to find the best solution for the port's repair, so it can be opened for use.

Toskas put emphasis on the high state of readiness and prompt response by Greek services, noting that a "complete team ready to respond to all situations" had been mobilised in the roughly three hours between the earthquake striking and the time when the ministers' plane took off to bring them to the island.

"At the same time that we were being transported there, a Chinook carrying the region's governor and rescuers set off to transport the injured. A second plane arrived that took injured to Iraklio Hospital and there was one more transfer to Thriasio Hospital. We started the inspection of the airport so that it could begin operating. The island mechanisms worked and all authorities cooperated well together," Toskas stressed.

A state of normality had already been restored, he continued, with arrivals continuing at the airport, tourists cycling along the water front and building inspections taking place in a climate of normal function.

"The island is currently operating without panic and if someone arrived on the island now, without knowing what has happened, he or she would not realise that there had been a natural disaster," he underlined.

Ferry connections to the island not cut off 

On his part, Santorinios referred to the efforts to ensure that ferry connections to the island were not cut off due to the damage at the port. This was extensive and had caused a problem with arrivals and departures, he said, with 78 passengers bound for Kos let off at Nisyros and transferred to Kos from the Kardamaina harbour, while 260 disembarked in Kalymnos and were on their way to the Mastichari harbour.

Alternate solutions were being sought, he explained, such as increasing the ferries going to Kalymnos and Mastichari, transferring a jetty from the PPC area and setting up a new Schengen entry point for travel to Turkey and letting ferries dock at Kefalos harbour for as long as was necessary, Santorinios said.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, after expressing condolences for the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to those injured, disclosed that the government's top priority was to quickly restore normality to the island. The situation had already normalised and was fully under control, he said.

"This situation does not lend itself to exploitation for communication purposes. Due to the summer season we must avoid dramatising. I recommend calmness to the political system and the media and urge citizens not to put stock in rumours and articles. They must get their information from official sources only," he said.

The situation on Kos has returned to normal and tourism is operating as usual the Ministry of Tourism said in announcement on Friday, following a 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the island.

Hotels not affected

Furthermore, tourism related facilities such as hotels have not been affected, access to the island is not hindered, the airport is operating as normal, with flights from and to all international destinations being carried out.

The island’s ferry connection with Piraeus has been re-established throught the port of Kefalos, located in the southwestern part of Kos while sea routes from and to the Dodecanese islands continue as normal through a pier near the main port of the island.

Ferry connection to the coast of Turkey continues, even though the Schengen zone security check point has been transfered near the main port of Kos and some of the ferry connections to Bodrum were temporarily frozen.

Moreover, tourism programs organized by tour operators are carried out as normal, including the arrival and departure of travelers while visitors are staying in the hotels they had initially booked. In only a few instances, tourists have been transfered to other facilities until engineering inspenction is completed while hoteliers and staff follow the required procedures, so as to ensure the best possible care and services for visitors.

In the meanwhile, Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) has contacted foreign Embassies and GNTO’s offices abroad and informed tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and other tourism professionals on the situtation.

As Hellenic Hotel Federation president Antonis Kambourakis noted, the island of Kos and its hotel infrastructure survived the earthquake, as Europe’s standards has been applied.

“By working with solemnity, responsibility, sensibility and respect towards its guests, Greece proved it is still a top european tourism destination,” he mentioned in an announcement and expressed his support to the families of the two victims.

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RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Chris Vlachos License: CC-BY-SA

Source: ANA-MPA