Sunday, September 8, 2024 As Greece continues to draw millions of tourists each year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced plans to regulate the influx of visitors to some of the country’s most popular islands. These measures, aimed at tackling overtourism, include increased docking fees for cruise ships and limits on the number of daily arrivals. During a speech in Thessaloniki, Mitsotakis emphasized the need to protect the social and environmental fabric of the islands, which have been struggling to cope with growing tourist numbers.
Cruise ships, in particular, have been a focus of concern, with places like Mykonos and Santorini experiencing overcrowding during peak tourist seasons. Greece, where tourism accounts for roughly 20% of the national economy, saw a record 33 million visitors last year. While the tourism sector continues to break records, the consequences of unchecked growth have been significant.
Vacation rentals and rising property prices have made it difficult for locals to afford housing, while the construction of vacation villas has led to water shortages on several islands. To address these challenges, docking fees for cruise ships are set to rise substantially. Popular destinations like Santorini will see fees increase to €20 during the high season, up from the current 35 cents.
These funds will be directed towards infrastructure improvements on the islands to help manage the strain caused by mass tourism. Additionally, a lodging tax on hotels and vacation rentals will be raised, with the extra revenue benefiting local communities during the busy tourist months. Property owners who offer long-term leases to locals, rather than short-term rentals to tourists, will be exempt from rental tax for the next three years.
Another key focus of the government’s new approach is curbing overdevelopment on Greece’s most overburdened islands. Mitsotakis acknowledged that some islands are already at their limit in terms of infrastructure capacity. New restrictions on construction, particularly of vacation homes, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Local officials have welcomed the changes. Santorini, which saw 1.3 million cruise visitors last year, has been grappling with the effects of overcrowding.
On some particularly busy days, the island’s 15,500 residents were asked to stay home to avoid the throngs of tourists. While the government’s efforts to manage tourism have been largely welcomed, some smaller islands fear that restrictions on major destinations could push cruise traffic onto them. Amorgos, a quiet island with a population of 2,000, recently received its first large cruise ship, raising concerns about the impact on its limited infrastructure and small beaches.
Mayor Konstantinos Revinthis of Serifos, another small island, has echoed these worries, stating that his island cannot handle the crowds that cruise ships bring. “We don’t have the infrastructure to host so many people,” he said, reflecting concerns shared by several other island leaders. Greece’s approach follows a broader European trend towards managing mass tourism.
Other cities like Venice, Barcelona, and Amsterdam have already introduced restrictions on cruise ships to protect their local environments and communities from the overwhelming impact of large tourist numbers. While tourism remains a vital part of Greece’s economy, the country’s new regulations seek to strike a balance between welcoming visitors and preserving the unique character of its islands for future generations..
