Greece’s newest safety phone app will go live on June 10th and will be primary used by tourists. The app is called “mAiGreece” and it is a digital travel assistant. The app is part of an initiative by the Greek Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni and the Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou.
As the name suggests, it is based on AI and can be used in 31 languages. What exactly does this mean in practice?
Ask in Your Own Language
It is possible to “talk” with the mAiGreece app in your native language, making it ideal for Dutch, German, Belgian, American, Canadian, and UK visitors to Greece. Visitors will be able to “talk” with mAiGreece by submitting questions in their language written or verbally.
The app will feature the 24 official EU languages and additional languages like Albanian, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Korean.
The app will use GPS to answer certain questions that are based on your location.
Safety and Accessibility Features for Visitors to Greece
For enhanced safety, mAiGreece will have an emergency feature with a 112 button (the emergency phone number in Greece) that sends a message with your location to the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.
You may see a text message from your phone provider (usually Vodafone or COSMOTE) to download the app when you arrive in Greece. The app will be free and available in the App Store and Play Store.
Safety in Greece
Greece received the best ranking possible for safety, according to the U.S. State Department. Greece is ranked as a “level-one destination,” which is the same rank given to Switzerland, Japan, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark. For perspective, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany all received a rank of “level-two destination”, which is considered less safe than Greece.
The world Global Peace Index rankings also give Greece a strong ranking because of its low crime rate.
Olivier Moutopoulos, from one of the largest Greek tour operators, Greeka, comments that: “If you are visiting the Greek islands, you really do not have to worry about anything.” Moutopoulos adds: “You will feel safe and at ease. If you are visiting Athens or another big city, I would just recommend the general safety tips that someone considers when traveling anywhere in Europe and the USA.”
About the Greek Islands
Greece’s small islands are an ideal place to be in the summer, especially because they are a safe holiday destination.
When we hear the words “Greek islands”, usually Santorini and Mykonos are the first to come to mind. Images of blue-domed Orthodox churches and whitewashed homes are brought to mind. Beyond these touristed destinations, there is in fact a great variety of other options.
There are seven main groupings of islands in Greece: The Cyclades, the Sporades, the Dodecanese, the Saronikos islands, the North Aegean islands, the Ionian islands, and the Big Two (Crete and Euboia).
