Overtourism (again)
The topic that won't go away
It seems that almost every day this week I read something about tourism numbers continuing to go up in Greece.
Athens Airport
One report said that Athens International Airport had 3.61 million passengers passing through it in July. This figure was 9.3% higher than last July. If you look at the figures from January-July they were 14.6% higher than in 2023. Over the whole year, the airport handled 28 million passengers in 2023, and this year’s figure is estimated to be around 30 million.
We all know that busy airports aren’t pleasant places to be, and no-one likes queues at customs when you arrive, nor waiting ages for your bags to arrive, but unless an airport’s infrastructure can cope with increased numbers, the down side of passing through an airport is only going to get worse.
International Arrivals Up
It was also reported this week that international arrivals for June at all Greek airports was 3.8 million. That’s an increase of 5.6% on June 2023, equivalent to an extra 203,000 people arriving in the country. No wonder many regional airports are working on improving their facilities, and their runways.
Getting the Message?
Perhaps visitors are getting the message, though. Two of its most popular destinations, Santorini and Mykonos, experienced a fall in the numbers of visitors. In the first six months of the year, Mykonos had 5% fewer visitors while Santorini saw a drop of 1.1%.
As for increases elsewhere in Greece:
Dodecanese 10.2%
Crete 8.6%
Peloponnese 8.3%
Ionian Islands 6.9%
Action Needed?
However, a survey that was also published this week showed that most Greeks are not overly concerned about overtourism, although a large number feel that it is a situation that needs watching. Of those surveyed, 30.5% thought it was a problem which needed immediate action, and a further 45.6% thought that it was a situation which needed watching. Only 19.6% expressed no concerns at all, and basically felt that the more visitors the country had, the better.
Visit Lesser-Known Islands
For those of us who love Greece and don’t want to see it spoiled, the answer is to get around and visit those lesser-known islands. There was an enjoyable and interesting travel piece this week in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. It contrasted the quieter island of Tinos with busy Mykonos, and also suggested a few other Cycladic islands you might want to visit for a touch of ‘the real Greece’. You can read it here.
Also in The Guardian, here’s a report on the problems created by overtourism in Spain, and why local people are concerned.
And that’s it for this time.
Mike and Donna