Greece will begin restricting the number of cruise ships visiting places such as Santorini and Mykonos as small islands collapse under increasing pressure from overtourism, the Greek prime minister said on Friday.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that new measures will be taken to reduce the number of cruise ships that can evacuate thousands of passengers at the same time.
“I think we’ll do that next year,” he said, referring to a plan to limit the number of cruise ship visits. He said the number of docks or mooring bays could be reduced.
He said the islands that were “clearly suffering” the most were Mykonos and Santorini.
Last year, approximately 750 cruise ships visited Mykonos, an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year.
“Santorini will be the most sensitive area, Mykonos will be the second,” the Prime Minister told Bloomberg.
Cheap flights increase tourism
The post-pandemic recovery has been key to Greece’s economic recovery after difficult years of austerity and cuts, but the sheer number of visitors threatens to overwhelm more popular destinations.
Cheap flights and social media fueled this increase, as in many parts of the world.
In summer, the whitewashed terraces and balconies overlooking Santorini’s spectacular volcanic caldera are packed with selfie-taking visitors in need of the perfect sunset shot to add to their social media posts.
Last year, 800 cruise ships visited Santorini, making the volcanic island Greece’s most popular cruise ship destination.
Santorini’s 15,000 inhabitants find themselves increasingly bored by the rush of visitors, receiving 5.5 million tourists every year, a figure that has doubled since 2012.
“Santorini is a problem in itself,” Mr. Mitsotakis said. He said that a large number of ships docking at the island may not provide sufficient economic benefit.
If Greece’s more popular islands become overcrowded, tourists will stop visiting them because the experience will be ruined.
“There are people who spend a lot of money to be in Santorini and they don’t want the island to be flooded. Moreover, it is not possible for the island to afford this even in terms of security,” said the prime minister.
Mykonos is also saturated with tourists due to overdevelopment of the beach and complaints about exorbitant prices at flashy beach bars and boutique hotels.
Rapidly increasing construction needs to be stopped immediately
Greece is heavily dependent on tourism; It accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s economic production.
Tourism revenues are expected to increase from 20.5 billion euros last year to 21 billion euros this year.
Approximately 33 million tourists visited the country last year, an 18 percent increase compared to 2022, drawn by its turquoise bays, guaranteed sunlight, sandy beaches and sugar cube island architecture.
The summer season is just starting, but there was a 25 percent increase in the number of tourists in the first quarter of the year.
Greece’s ombudsman warned on Thursday that there was an urgent need to stop excessive construction and protect coastal areas.
“Our country’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which makes the need to manage it sustainably all the more urgent,” the Ombudsman said.
The report, which is the first report on the sector since the Ombudsman’s office was established 25 years ago, stated that Greece should not “exhaust its potential, waste it and not cause our tourist destinations to lose their attractiveness over time.”
The report suggested that Santorini has a particular problem with overtourism. “Even tourists in Santorini complain about the large number of tourists.”
Countries struggle with overtourism
On the neighboring Cycladic island of Paros, locals protested the increasing number of privately owned sun loungers and umbrellas being erected on beaches that are supposed to be public and available for all to use. The government recently announced that it will use Artificial Intelligence and satellite imagery to detect beach operators who abuse the permits they are given.
Countries around the world are debating whether the stifling effects of cruise tourism are socially and economically justified.
Italy has banned large cruise ships from using the Giudecca Canal, which runs through the heart of Venice, in 2021.
In April, Venice became the first city in the world to charge tourists an entrance fee, paying visitors 5 euros per person; Those who stayed at least one night at the hotel were exempt.
There is opposition to giant cruise ships in Spain’s Balearic Islands; locals complain that passengers go ashore for a few hours, spend little and then return to the boat.
Islanders in Majorca will stage a new protest against mass tourism on Saturday, following previous demonstrations.
Earlier this month, a group of protesters gathered on a beach on the island’s south coast wearing sarongs and towels to symbolize how they felt squeezed by the 18 million tourists who visit Majorca each year.
In May, nearly 10,000 islanders marched through the streets of the capital Palma to protest the saturation of tourism.