In an effort to prevent an excessive amount of tourism, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday (September 8, 2024) that Greece intends to impose a fee of twenty euros, which is equivalent to twenty-eight dollars, on cruise ship passengers who visit the islands of Santorini and Mykonos during the high summer season.
Tourism is the primary engine that drives Greece’s economy, which is still in the process of recovering from a crisis that lasted for ten years and wiped away one-fourth of the country’s production. Greece is largely dependent on tourism.
Santorini, a beautiful island consisting of picturesque towns and gorgeous beaches with 20,000 permanent inhabitants, is one of the most popular locations in Greece; nonetheless, it runs the danger of being destroyed by the large number of tourists that visit the island.
Mitsotakis highlighted that excessive tourism was only an issue in a select areas during a news conference that took place the day after he presented his primary economic plans for the year 2025.
It is not the case that Greece is experiencing a systemic overtourism crisis… The fact that specific weeks or months of the year are associated with a substantial problem at certain of its destinations is something that we need to address, he said.
During the announcement of the tax, he continued by saying, “Cruise shipping has been a burden on Santorini and Mykonos, and this is the reason why we are proceeding with interventions.”
Nearly 31 million tourists visited Greece in 2023, which resulted in the country’s tourism industry bringing in approximately 20 billion euros in income.
Protesters have asked for restrictions to be placed on tourism in Santorini, much as they have done in other major vacation locations in Europe, such as Venice and Barcelona.
Mitsotakis said that a portion of the funds collected from the cruise ships tax would be sent back to the towns in order to be spent in the development of infrastructure.
Additionally, the government intends to control the number of cruise ships that arrive simultaneously at certain sites. Additionally, he said that measures that safeguard the environment and address water shortages must be implemented on islands.
Mitsotakis said on Saturday that Greece is also interested in increasing a tax on short-term rentals and prohibiting new licenses for such rentals in downtown Athens. This is done with the intention of increasing the housing stock available for permanent inhabitants.
On Monday, the administration will provide specifics about a few of the initiatives.