Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 04:26 am
Santorini, Greece – With its panoramic views of the setting sun and its sea-blue church domes, Santorini faces extreme overtourism challenges as this Greek island struggles to accommodate record visitors. Tourism so far this year has totally overwhelmed the island, hosting 3.4 million of Greece’s record 32.7 million travelers on an island with only 15,500 residents.
The crowds have meant long waits for the most popular viewpoints-22 minutes or more in places, in the clifftop village of Oia, for instance.
Economic Opportunities and Environmental Pressures
Internationally famous sunsets turned into an enormous tourist and entrepreneur attraction. Some businesses charge a great deal for adding certain experiences to enhance the visitor’s social media photos, such as “flying dresses” that can go up to 370 euros ($401 US dollars).
More tourists means more pressure on locals and infrastructure. Locals have even posted signs around Oia asking tourists to be respectful of their community, pointing out that the unique landscape of the island has been built atop a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago.
“RESPECT. It’s your holiday. but it’s our home” says one poster from the Save Oia group.
Also, numerous swimming pools and jacuzzis line Santorini’s coastline, since it is one of the very expensive destinations. Eight hundred cruise ships came in this year, 2023, with about 1.3 million passengers, as if to make the island even more appealing.?
Proposed Solutions and Controversies
Tourism challenges have pushed the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to pledge the potential of putting a cap on the cruise ship arrivals in Greece’s most famous islands, like Santorini. He mentioned that this must be done through quotas in order not to burden the island.
Not all local operators are in concert with this move, though. Antonis Pagonis, the head of Santorini’s hoteliers association, feels the need for a more effective regulation of the flow of visitors, proposing that daily ups and downs in visitor numbers add to the problem.
“It is not possible to have on a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero,” Pagonis said.
In comparison, the southern part of the island, for example, which is famous for its black volcanic sand beaches, is not that crowded, even during the peak travel season.
Changed Tourist Behaviour
Modern tourism has also influenced visitors’ expectations and behaviour. Kostas Sakavaras, a tourist guide, said that for many tourists, taking an excellent Instagram photo is now more important than experiencing actual tourism; some tourists mix up the landmarks due to the influence of social media.