Friday, August 16, 2024 The impact of over tourism on Greece’s popular destinations has reached critical levels, with islands like Santorini and Mykonos facing unprecedented challenges. Santorini, a picturesque island beloved by millions worldwide, is grappling with the influx of up to 17,000 tourists in a single day. This surge is causing economic inequalities to widen, as revealed by new data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
Tourism has long been a double-edged sword for Greece, bringing both wealth and challenges. The ELSTAT data has shed light on the stark economic disparities between popular tourist destinations and other regions of Greece. Santorini, with its modest size of 29 square miles and a population of just over 15,200, generated a staggering 743.
8 million euros (£633.5 million) in turnover from accommodation and catering in 2023. This figure alone represents 3.
7% of the country’s total. Similarly, Mykonos, another highly sought-after destination, with a population of only 10,700 and an area of 33 square miles, saw a turnover of 504 million euros (£429 million). In stark contrast, larger regions such as Western Macedonia, spanning 3,649 square miles and home to over 250,000 people, generated a mere 140 million euros (£119 million) in the same sector.
The data further reveals that while the Southern Aegean region, which includes popular islands like Rhodes, accounts for 18.3% of Greece’s total tourism turnover, other regions struggle to compete. For instance, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, covering 5,466 square miles and housing over 562,000 residents, only managed to generate 470 million euros (£400 million).
Even the Ionian Islands, another tourist hotspot, saw a turnover of 1.4 billion euros (£1.19 billion), with Corfu alone contributing half of that amount.
Central Greece, despite being over 5,000 times larger than the Ionian Islands combined, could only muster a turnover of 383 million euros (£326 million) in the tourism sector. The widening gap between tourist-heavy regions and other parts of Greece is becoming increasingly concerning. According to a government official, the economic divide that once existed between cities and villages has now shifted to between tourist and non-tourist areas.
This shift is evident in the significant rise in declared incomes in tourist areas, particularly in the Cyclades islands, where incomes surged by 26% between 2019 and 2022, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, officials also acknowledge that undeclared incomes play a crucial role in the tourism sector, further complicating efforts to address these disparities. As Greece continues to grapple with the challenges of overtourism, authorities are increasingly looking at data on economic inequality to find solutions.
The significant disparities in turnover between tourist and non-tourist areas highlight the need for a more balanced approach to tourism development. Without intervention, the economic divide is likely to widen further, potentially leading to long-term consequences for Greece’s overall economic stability. The situation in Greece serves as a stark reminder of the complexities of managing tourism in a way that benefits all regions equally.
While islands like Santorini and Mykonos continue to attract millions of visitors each year, the impact on local economies and the broader implications for Greece cannot be ignored. As authorities seek to address these challenges, the future of tourism in Greece hangs in the balance, with potential solutions needing to balance the benefits of tourism with the need for economic equality across the country..
