More than 25,000 Dutch holidaymakers sign up for ‘test trip’ to Greece

Only 200 spots are up for grabs

The holiday will be to the island of Rhodes (iStock)

Almost 200 lucky holidaymakers from the Netherlands will get to go on a trip to Greece as part of a government-backed experiment to see if safe travel is possible during the pandemic.

Dutch travel company Sunweb is offering 187 places on the eight-day holiday to Rhodes – so far, more than 25,000 people have applied.

Travellers aged 18 to 70 are eligible, and will be selected according to criteria set by the government.

Those who are chosen will get a fantastic deal: their all-inclusive getaway will cost just €399 (£344).

However, they will be unable to leave their resort on the Greek island and will have to quarantine for 10 days upon their return home to the Netherlands.

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Holidaymakers will get exclusive use of an entire hotel, with full use of the resort pools and restaurants, but will not be allowed out onto the beach.

Sunweb has drawn up a safety plan approved by the Dutch public health agency, and travellers will be tested for Covid-19 before and after the trip. Anyone who falls ill with the virus during the holiday will be quarantined at a separate hotel, at the travel company’s expense.

Similarly to the UK, the Netherland currently advises against all unnecessary international travel until May at the earliest. Those selected for Sunweb’s experiment will be the only Dutch people permitted to go on holiday abroad for at least a month.

“First I got corona and got very sick,” Corina Gouderjaan, 51, told Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws of her decision to apply for the trip.

“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.”

It’s one in a line of examples that show how desperate people are to travel again.

In November 2020, Royal Caribbean’s president and CEO Michael Bayley revealed that 100,000 people had signed up to volunteer for the company’s “mock cruises”.

Writing on his public Facebook page, Mr Bayley said: ”And just like that...100,000 people have volunteered. We can’t wait to start this next phase with you all!”

“Mock cruises” are trial sailings with volunteer guests to demonstrate the effectiveness of Covid-19 health and safety measures on board ships.

It’s part of a series of steps mandated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get the cruise industry going again in America.