The five Aegean islands that have received the main burden of refugee flows in Greece, will maintain their special value-added tax (VAT) status until the end of the year.

There was no discussion for providing additional funding to the Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean during last week’s visit of the five island mayors to the European Commission, spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said on Tuesday during a regular press briefing in Brussels. 

Hoteliers in Samos, Lesvos, Chios, Kos and Leros, the islands most affected by the refugee crisis last year, are slashing prices for rooms and tourist packages by up to 50 percent for Greek tourists who will visit from August 20 until the end of October, in a bid to reverse a large drop in tourism arrivals on these islands.