Eight days in a resort on the Greek island of Rhodes, with three swimming pools and two restaurants, for 399 euros. It is the unique experiment launched by the Dutch travel agency Sunweb in collaboration with the airline Transavia to see if tourism is feasible during the pandemic.
25,000 responded, but 189 seats are available.
Guests ages 18 to 70 can attend. The lucky ones will fly on April 12 to Rhodes at the Mitsis Grand Beach hotel. They will be swabbed before and after the trip and will be able to use all the spaces of the resort, including swimming pools and restaurants, but will not be able to go to the beach.
If someone develops coronavirus symptoms while on vacation, they will have to isolate themselves in a Covid hotel in Greece at Sunweb’s expense. Once back home, they will have to quarantine for up to 10 days. The safety guidelines of the experiment were approved by the Dutch health authorities, the travel agency stressed.
The Dutch government has given the green light to the proposal despite infections and hospitalizations continue to rise and unnecessary travel abroad is not recommended at least until mid-May. But given the growing public pressure to allow summer holidays, tests like this one, according to the authorities, could help determine if there is a safe way to travel.
Twitter users have called the resort a “luxury prison” and are wondering what could be the reason for choosing to move to a closed place for 8 days with no access to the island or the beach.
Corina Gouderjaan, 51, responded to the offer and explained his reasons to the Dutch broadcaster Rtl News: “First I got Covid and I was very sick. Then I lost my job. And now? I can’t wait to go do nothing in a resort, and recover from this difficult year”.
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