Holland sends 200 people on eight-day holiday to Greece as an experiment

Holland sends 200 people on eight-day holiday to Greece as an experiment to see if tourism is feasible during pandemic

  • Experiment will see people heading for £342 all-inclusive trip to Rhodes, Greece 
  • Will have to stay inside the resort at all times and quarantine when they return
  • Has been met with criticism as coronavirus cases continue to rise across Europe  

Holland is planning to send 200 people on holiday to Greece for eight days as an experiment to see if tourism is feasible during the pandemic.

The trial will see travellers enjoy an all-inclusive holiday in Rhodes, costing £342 (€399) per person, the BBC reports. 

Those chosen for the experiment, which has had 25,000 applications so far, will be expected to quarantine for ten days when they return to Holland. 

The experiment will see 187 people heading to a resort in Rhodes, Greece (stock image) for an eight-trip to test whether foreign travel is possible

During the experiment, hosted by holiday firm Sunweb, the selected 187 holiday-goers will not be allowed to leave the resort. 

It comes as Boris Johnson announced overseas travel outside the UK is scheduled to resume on May 17 but the latest wave in Europe could push the date back.  

The advice is similar in Holland, with all foreign travel, expect essential journeys, discouraged until mid-May. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has recorded 1.25million confirmed cases and 16,536 deaths. 

The latest holiday experiment has left many wondering whether giving people the chance to escape lockdown is ‘responsible or reckless’ as cases continue to rise across Europe and the Netherlands. 

Others on social media have compared the resort to a ‘luxury prison’ and questioned why people would volunteer for the experiment. 

Those who make it onto the experiment must be tested for coronavirus before they leave and when they return and must stay within the resort for the duration of the trip. Picture: Stock

Those who make it onto the experiment must be tested for coronavirus before they leave and when they return and must stay within the resort for the duration of the trip. Picture: Stock

The country has been carrying out a number of experiments to understand which events could be safe to resume, including a conference attended by 500 people and a dance party with 1,300 guests. 

Those wishing to take part in the latest holiday experiment must be aged 18-70 and will be tested before and after they travel. 

According to RTL Nieuws, they will be staying at the Mitsis Grand Hotel in Rhodes where they will be the only guests. 

In the experiment, which has been given the go ahead by public health authorities in Holland, they will be allowed to use the hotel’s facilities, including three swimming pools and two restaurants, but won’t be able to head down to the beach or leave the resort.

European leaders are being forced to impose tough new lockdown measures to curb a rise in Covid infections driven by new and more-infectious variants of the virus, with Germany the latest to slam on the brakes 

In the UK, the government will start fining people £5,000 from next week if they leave England to go on holiday.

The Prime Minister yesterday told the Commons that things were ‘looking difficult on the Continent’ as he refused to confirm whether he would be taking a foreign jaunt.  

It comes as Germany and France have imposed fresh restrictions, while there is speculation that the UK could impose restrictions on people returning from much of the continent once leisure travel resumes.