Pretty soon, all our warnings to Greek officials about overtourism and looming crises because of overdevelopment and overtourism may not be idle complaining. In Athens, for instance, irate locals are raging over “overtourism” by UK tourists. Graffiti on some shopfronts spells out, “No more tourism.” Mass tourism in Athens is the least of Greece’s worries.
Throngs of budget-minded travellers arriving in places like Crete by cruise lines, or staying at beachfront all-inclusive resorts are even more volatile situations. Factor in the short-term rental factor, and pretty soon Cretans will take up arms to run tourists and the government off. Here in Heraklion’s center there is a long wall on a major pedestrian shopping street where graffiti reads “Migrants welcome, tourists, fuck off.”
A report from BuzzFeed earlier this month told of more than a dozen formerly peaceful touristic destinations that are now ruined by overtourism. Among those listed, Greece’s Santorini is the greatest shame on Greek officials. What was the most romantic couples’ destination in the world is now a hell of rude tourists elbowing their way to get a selfie at the caldera. The BuzzFeed report also highlights places like Yosemite National Park in the US, Angkor Wat, Rio de Janeiro, and others as trampled heirlooms of humanity. Athens, Greece is another destination being ruined by too many tourists. Katerina Kikilia, Professor of Tourism Management at the University of West Attica, told Euronews recently:
We need rules. Athenians face daily social and environmental impacts. The housing crisis is huge.
To make matters worse, data indicates the average tourist brings only about €0.40 to Athens. And this is money most businesses and residents have still not seen. Seven million visitors will stomp through Plaka and over the Acropolis this season, and thousands of families have been forced out of the city to make way for short-term rentals. Rental prices are unbearable for a citizenry now the poorest in all of Europe.
In 2023, Statista research revealed that more than 800,000 visitors to Crete came from the UK alone. We’ve covered the ongoing problems with overdevelopment and overtourism here for years now. A crazy development at the world-famous Balos Lagoon this month punctuates the problem officials have with their knee-jerk solutions to problems they create through a lack of real planning. Several of my friends who own shops and tavernas in Heraklion, Crete’s pedestrian zone tell me that “retail is dead.” Some intend to close up their businesses at season’s end.
Finally, when the ferry to the lagoon has to force passengers to wade ashore because a floating dock is banned by authorities, international news picks it up. You read correctly. Greece’s and Crete’s genius tourism ministers invite more travelers to the island than the infrastructure can handle, and sooner or later some luggage gets wet or somebody drowns. Let’s hope the current head of tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, is paying close attention. She said recently her ministry has a “clear vision” for the sector. The way I am reading her address before parliament, things like increasing the number of berths for passenger liners seem to be status quo. This is just what Greece needs, more TUI shiploads of buffet gobbling travelers taking El Cheapo vacations they can afford.
On the Balos PR catastrophe, according to the reports, the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy banned the use of the temporary dock (get this) because it would damage the delicate environment. Meanwhile, some wealthy Malaka hotel owner gets ready to slam up a new five-star resort on an untouched beach in North Crete. The hypocrisy, mediocrity, malfeasance, and downright criminal activities going on in Greece, are mirrored in other European destinations too. Still, it seems like the Greek officials are the biggest pimps on the European tourism circuit. They’ll promote anything that bigger businesses want them to promote.
The influential blog World of Bevoir encapsulated everything experts are saying about places like Santorini in this post. “Santorini: A Paradise Lost to Tourism” was posted last year. This paragraph paints a picture of every Greek destination if steps are not taken in the coming years.
Litter is everywhere on Santorini, from the beaches to the streets, from the caldera to the vineyards. Plastic bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers, and other waste items are scattered all over the island, creating an eyesore and a health hazard. The problem is so bad that some locals have dubbed Santorini as “the Island of Garbage”.
And this is from someone who has been visiting Santorini for forty years. The merchants losing their businesses get it. The citizens who can no longer live in the cities and towns for being priced out get it. Pretty soon the Greece tax base will get it also, and then perhaps, just perhaps the brilliant politicians and oligarchs ruining the country.
Image credit: Feature image via Beach on Map.
