Real tourist hell: Instagrammable Greek island is facing its "worst season ever"

The Greek island of Santorini has gained immense fame since the beginning of the social media era. Its snow-white houses with blue roofs, which look stunning against the sea, began to attract about 3.4 million tourists a year. And this is with a local population of only 20,000 people.

According to CNN Travel, about 17,000 cruise ship passengers a day disembark on the island during the high season. All of them dream of taking pictures in the local capital, Fira, or in the town of Oia on the northwestern tip of the island, where they can watch stunning sunsets. The crowds of tourists on the streets during the day become so large that they prevent the locals from living their normal lives. However, everything changes radically after dark

Local authorities plan to start imposing restrictions on the number of tourists in 2025. Thus, the mayor of Santorini, Nikolaos Zorzos, proposed to limit the number of cruise ship passengers to 8,000 people per day. This step was supported by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The decision will come into force next year.

Nevertheless, locals claim that the problem is not so much in tourists as in the poorly developed infrastructure of the island. At least that's what Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator and resident of Santorini for 18 years, said to the publication. According to him, during daytime hours, tourists create excessive crowds only in the most picturesque spots. The rest of the island remains empty.

Chimenti complains that the island is experiencing its worst season. The city centers and restaurants are almost empty after 9 p.m. even in the peak months of July and August. Guests arrive during the day on cruise ships and leave the island by evening. Therefore, they do not bring the island the desired profit, creating nothing but huge crowds during the day.

This summer, hotel occupancy in Santorini is only 30% of the usual season. The rest of the local tourist-oriented businesses have similar problems.

That's because the island has been perceived as being too busy with visitors. People are scared off by overcrowding, and they come here for a tour rather than staying for a vacation.

The Greek authorities are currently working on diversifying tourist routes. In general, this country has been experiencing a tourism boom since the beginning of the year - revenues from the industry in the first 5 months of 2024 increased by 16%. It is expected that Greece will break last year's record of 33 million visitors by the end of 12 months.

At the same time, tourists are mainly paying attention to the islands of Piraeus, Mykonos and Santorini. Therefore, there is a need to unload these destinations and redirect the flow of tourists. In particular, tour operators offer more excursions to archaeological sites, which are abundant in Santorini. It is also done to attract tourists to rest not only in the cities of Fira and Oia, but also in the picturesque villages located here.

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.