Santorini Warning of Cruise Passenger Influx Causes Uproar

The Greek island of Santorini is in the spotlight again after a local councilman advised residents via his Facebook account to stay put due to the arrival of cruise passengers.

In his post, Panos Kavalaris said on Tuesday that it would be a “difficult day” due to the arrival of cruise ships carrying some 17,000 passengers. He went on to add that the island’s hotels and accommodation facilities were fully booked and that the arrival of so many cruise travelers would create congestion.

“Since tourists have occupied every space on the island, residents will have to remain in a ‘special’ form of lockdown in order not to make their lives even more difficult,” the post, which was later deleted, read.

The councilman advised readers to consider his post as an emergency announcement and take heed.

Cruise Ship Arrivals Taking Toll on Local Life

In interviews to local media this week, Kavalaris has repeatedly raised the issue of overtourism and overcrowding due to the uncontrolled arrival of cruise ships visiting Santorini.

The post comes days after a massive protest in Palma de Mallorca and earlier in Barcelona, Malaga and the Canary Islands, about the impact of overtourism on the lives of locals.

There are days that Santorini – 76.19km2 (29.41 sq miles) in total – welcomes over 17,000 visitors putting pressure on energy and water supplies and affecting waste management as well as the quality of services offered.

Commenting on the incident in an interview to Action24, Santorini Mayor Nikos (Anastasios) Zorzos said the island was taking targeted actions to avoid “becoming Barcelona”, adding that the goal was for the popular destination to become attractive and sustainable. The post, he said, was not something he would have done.

On his part, Kavalaris said his words and intentions were “distorted” and misunderstood. “The post was completely misinterpreted. We were trying to help residents… particularly in view of the [hot] weather,” he said.

Santorini authorities have announced several actions over the years that would help decongest the island, including the launch of a berthing allocation system that would regulate the number of incoming cruise ships, a cap on cruise ship arrivals, and even the possibility of a head tourist tax. None of these solutions have been implemented.

Greek PM Says Measures in the Pipeline

In June, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Bloomberg, that the government was examining a cap on cruise ship arrivals and even the possibility of slot auctions. Both CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) and the Greek Union of Cruise Ship Owners and Shipping Agencies (EEKFN) have consented to a daily cap as part of efforts to improve the visitor experience.

Indicative of the challenge the island faces, some 800 cruise ships made port calls to Santorini in 2023 up from 686 in 2022 transporting some 1.3 million passengers eager to visit the iconic Greek island. With demand for cruise travel growing, in 2025, the number of cruise passengers to Santorini is expected to reach 1.5 million.

Source: tovima.com