Greek locals warned 'stay inside' as 11,000 cruise ship tourists invade in single day
A picturesque Greek island has been swamped by a tidal wave of tourists, all arriving in the course of a single day.
Panagiotis Kavallaris, who heads the Thira municipal community on the idyllic isle of Santorini, took to social media earlier this week with a plea for locals to stay indoors, as reported by a local Greek news outlet. In his now-deleted post, Mr Kavallaris reportedly alerted islanders to the overwhelming surge of visitors spilling from cruise ships.
The situation reached a peak on a Tuesday last month, when a staggering 11,000 cruise ship passengers flooded Santorini. The social media appeal quickly became a hot topic, drawing criticism from those who felt it sidelined residents from the economic advantages of tourism. Subsequently, the post was taken down, as noted by Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
According to Cruisecritic, a Tripadvisor company, the island's ports can accommodate up to seven cruise liners at once, which could mean an influx of over 14,000 people if the ships are at full capacity. One visitor likened the struggle through Oia village's cramped streets to "woodcut of Dante's Circles of Hell with the condemned souls shoulder to shoulder as they funnel down to the bottom", reports the Mirror.
There was a meeting on that Tuesday following the chaos where discussions unfolded between senior offices from various sectors, Thira's Mayor, South Aegean region's governor, and Cyclades MPs. The need to curb the number of cruise ships flooding into the island was stressed as a solution to prevent the village from becoming swamped.
According to reports in the Express, Nikos Zorzos, Santorini's Mayor, maintained that the daily count of cruise passengers must be confined below 8,000. Speaking to Kathimerini, Mr Zorzos said, "Starting in 2025, we will reinstate this cap to preserve our island as a unique destination."
He admitted that implementing limits this year would prove impractical given the advanced planning of many cruises. However, he added that the municipal authority has succeeded in decreasing peak days, with visitors crossing 10,000 to 11,000, from 63 in 2023 to just 48 this year.
Mr Zorzos further appealed for comprehensive measures including a new port's construction, urban planning, enhancement in energy infrastructure, and better regulation of hotels and Airbnbs. The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, spoke up last month about plans to impose restrictions discussing the issue of an excessive influx of cruise ships docking off not just Santorini, but other Greek islands too.
He revealed these intentions while talking to Bloomberg.
Earlier that month, UK holidaymakers lashed out at what's been dubbed "Europe's most beautiful island", claiming it has been spoiled by excessive tourism, with particular disdain for "the knockoffs and the Americans and the selfie-stick flailers". One disgruntled visitor remarked: "No amount of sunsets or white walls or blue domes will ever make Santorini worth the money".
A long-time fan of the island, who first experienced Santorini's charm in the early 1980s, reminisced about its once "unspoilt" beauty and "true Greek experience". They lamented the current state, saying: "Sadly all this is long gone. Now it is a tourist trap," and further commented on the influx of tourists: "Today cruise liners dump thousands onto the island every day... all ripe for scamming," they concluded.
Source: External
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