TOURISTS have been told that one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe is in for “a very bad year” this year, amid calls to limit visitors.
Santorini in Greece attracts millions of people every year, all hoping to see its famous whitewashed buildings overlooking the Aegean sea.
This year, almost 3.5million visitors are expected, which could be too many, according to locals who claim that overtourism is damaging some of the island’s best assets.
That includes vineyards, of which there are only “small patches” remaining, as a result of Santorini trying to accommodate too many people.
Wine producer Matthew Argyros told the Irish Independent: “Tourism destroys the vineyards.
“I raise a red flag for the island.”
The island’s officials have been calling for a cap on the number of tourists for more than a decade.
Some of those are due to be implemented from next year, particularly for cruise guests.
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said he will limit cruise ship passengers in places like Santorini and Mykonos due to concerns of tourism saturation.
He told Bloomberg earlier this year: “I think we will do it next year.
“Santorini is the most sensitive, Mykonos will be the second.
“There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped. Plus the island can’t afford it, even in terms of security.”
However, that leaves this year still uncapped and tourism unlimited, with locals fearing that visitors could cause further problems.
Santorini’s mayor Nikos Zorzos, warned: “It’s going to be a very bad year for Santorini.”
He has claimed that the island can’t afford to add a single bed more for accommodation, if it wants to avoid major consequences of tourism.
According to Curly Tales, the mayor has said that even if the infrastructure were to improve in Santorini, it still wouldn’t be able to handle the rising number of visitors.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is considering limiting cruise ship numbers on popular islands like Santorini and Mykonos following concerns of tourism saturation.
New regulations on cruise ships could either restrict the number of berths on each island or introduce a bidding process for slots, according to Bloomberg.
Cruise ship numbers on popular Greek Islands will be limited, if the regulations do come into force next year.
800 cruise ships docked at Santorini last year, with a further 749 docking at Mykonos.
Amid Nikos’ concerns are water shortages, caused by the huge increase in the amount of people on the island during the summer months.
Greek newspaper Kathimerini said that the shortages are caused in part by an “explosive growth of tourism, followed by an increase in consumption”.
The water shortages are one of several problems noted by The European Commission, who wrote a report in 2018 about the impact of tourists on the Greek Islands.
The report noted that visitors brought €1 billion (£840m) a year to Santorini, but said they increased the population to as many as 107.8 tourists for every 100 inhabitants.
According to Hindustan Times, some of the negative impacts of those visitors “have permanent consequences on the island and its community”.
It’s not just a problem for Santorini either, with mayor of Serifos Konstantinos Revinthis adding: “Tourists are set for a bad surprise this year due to water shortages.
“They must know that they will not be able to shower, if there’s no immediate solution.”
Meanwhile, this European city is doubling its tourist fee from next year.
And this island is hoping to lower visitor numbers with similar bans.
