In Crete, Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and the island’s governor, Stavros Arnaoutakis, met recently to hammer out a strategy to make Crete into a model sustainable tourism destination. Kefalogiannia offered this statement to reporters:
“We’re here today to lay the foundations so that Crete becomes a model of sustainable tourism development.”
She also pointed out that culture, the natural environment, the human factor, and tradition will play a key role in making Crete one of the world’s most desirable destinations. However, Governor Arnaoutakis’ and the minister’s statements seem like rehashing the “sustainability buzz” that began some years back. With the emerging movement toward regenerative tourism gaining momentum, Greece’s top tourism experts and decision-makers would climb aboard.
Instead, ecotourism and sustainability PR, like that used in this 2021 report from the Technical University of Crete or this 2017 report (PDF) from Intereg Europe and the European Regional Development Fund, continues to power perceptions and the political machinery of Greece. Crete even got its very own European Sustainability Academy back in 2013, and the vocabulary and strategies back then mirror the “efforts” today to pretend to keep things the way they are while building out a veritable Florida instead of preserving authentic Crete.
Ironically, the news about the “sustainability” initiative was not even about sustainability or anything close to regenerative tourism. The statements were a package of infrastructure and growth potential, including the new airport, the Northern Road Axis of Crete, and the stimulation of the economy from increased tourist arrivals. It’s as if the leadership of Greece has been so empowered that they don’t even conceal their real agenda anymore.
In this particular meeting, several junior ministers of Crete, including General Secretary of Tourism Policy and Development Myron Flouris, Deputy Governor of Tourism Kyriakos Kotsoglou, Deputy Governor of Heraklion Nikos Syrigonakis, Deputy Governor of Rethymno Mary Lionis, Deputy Governor of Lasithi Yiannis Androulakis, and Rethymno Mayor Giorgis Marinakis.
Another point of interest is the fact that none of these decision-makers have the slightest focus on alleviating the real problems Cretans face. It’s as if the politicians are serving the tourism industry rather than helping preserve the Crete generations of travelers have revisited for decades. Take the Archalochori Earthquake situation as a prime example. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Cretans from the Minoa Pediada, still wait for their homes, villages, and lives to be patched back together. But the devastation of that 6.5 magnitude quake is old news and not a political talking point anymore. The airport at Kastelli is where the bulldozers congregate, right next to smiling politicians and the big contractors and investors. Prime Minister Mitsotakis was quoted recently saying:
“The new Kastelli airport will be an architectural jewel, a beacon of development.”
In the aftermath of his smiling photo op with construction crews, Greece’s top official did not mention regenerative tourism or sustainability. Development at Kastelli and games at the new Sports Complex at Karteros were the news from the Greek City Times. Meanwhile, some 7,000 victims of the 2021 earthquake face having their properties confiscated, and many have never received any compensation to help them on their feet. Many of the surrounding villages in the region are all but deserted for lack of government action to help.
Even Greece’s private sector is hands-off, where redeveloping places like Galatas and other small traditional villages are concerned. I met with one of the most successful Crete entrepreneurs a few months ago about investing in regenerative projects – the result was absolutely no interest whatsoever. The focus for these Crete businesspersons is building a Mediterranean Florida, not giving back to the island and the culture that bore them. Mitsokakis is from Crete, and he’s more interested in entertaining EU President Ursula von der Leyen than putting a Crete villager back in his family home.
The short of this Crete is becoming a travesty of sustainable tourism practice and a horror story where regenerative tourism is concerned. Olga Kefalogianni and Governor Arnaoutakis can smile into the cameras as they wish, but neither can deny the disparity in priorities where Crete’s people are concerned. I won’t even get into the genius ideas to import tens of thousands of Egyptian and Pakistani hospitality workers to dish out Cretan Filoxenia. Those 5-star hotels are squeezed so tightly by TUI and other corporate tour groups they cannot even pay a competitive wage to Crete workers. No one wants to work for the hoteliers anymore. It’s like slave labor, they say.
I know I’ve made my point. I hope this report serves the people of Arkalochori, Galatas, Thrapsano, and the smaller villages about to lose their legacy to “progress,” as the politicians deem it. I’ll follow up once I’ve asked some of these decision-makers about who they think will buy up all those properties.
To be continued…