The tourists will not stop coming. Athens GR 10557 Call center: +30 210 324 7511. The country is expected to welcome a record 32 million foreign travellers in 2018 - up from just 6.2 million in 1998 and 15 million in 2010. Cousteau looked for the lost city of Atlantis here. As the engine of an economy that has shrunk by more than 25% under fiscal retrenchment, tourism is among the few success stories of a country that came perilously close to insolvency during the euro crisis. “We have built numerous desalination plants and are in the process of erecting the biggest one in Greece, but in five years’ time I worry even that won’t be enough.”Greece’s growing appeal as a global destination comes despite the rebound in popularity of Turkey, Egypt and other regional neighbours badly hit by security concerns.Few would contend that the sector has not also been beneficial. Photo © GTPAccording to Konstantinidis, Heliotopos is open about 11 months a year with a one month pause for maintenance reasons and for the staff to take time off.“We do not operate under the logic of hiring seasonal workers, since our employees are hired for the whole year. Tourism is the nation’s biggest foreign currency earner, generating nearly a quarter of its output.The necessity to survive has made the sector more inventive. Although 2018 has around two months to go, tourism on Santorini is still booming with tourists, including culture lovers, newlyweds and families, arriving daily either by air, sea or cruiseships.
For many, they are antidotes to the gruelling austerity that has been the price of emergency bailouts from Germany and other international creditors for propping up an economy encumbered by staggering debt.The striking growth of tourist numbers is also the result of hard work. This year, nearly two million travellers will cross off Santorini from their bucket list, reports The Guardian. Arrivals from China alone have doubled since 2017. During the first eight months of the year, Santorini already welcomed 1,501,662 visitors, compared to 1,219,370 during the January-August 2017 period. Photo © GTPDuring the first eight months of the year, Santorini already welcomed The high numbers are the result of the island’s efforts to establish itself as an all year round destination, an “The initiative is coming along very well… Each year more businesses are staying open during the shoulder season,” the mayor told According to the mayor, last year’s winter season, “This year, more accommodation options are available as the Airbnb phenomenon has been overdeveloped here… I believe we will overcome 25,000 visitors in the winter,” he said.Santorini visitors on the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. For every one of its citizens, three foreign visitors – 32 million in total – will arrive this year, more than at any other time since records began.
No major European destination has seen a bigger increase in visitor numbers this decade.
Photo © GTP“These are the more ‘quality tourists’ who are interested in the geology of Santorini, its archaeological side, the architecture, its wines… By staying open in the winter and having lower prices, these customers are more likely to come visit the island,” Konstantinidis said, adding that Santorini hotelier, Kostas Konstantinidis. Asia has also been targeted, with bookings from China ballooning since direct flights between Athens and Beijing were launched last September. For years Santorini has been established as the ideal destination for wedding tourism with its volcanic caldera in high demand to serve as a backdrop for weddings, marriage proposals and vow renewals. All rights reserved. Greek officials have done much to improve services and, after decades of focusing on mass sun, sand and sea holidays, the industry has become more eclectic and diverse, with the season extending into the winter and spring. Tourism is the heavy industry that has helped keep catastrophe at bay. At least one in five Greeks work in tourism. Contact Details On the remotest of islands, boutique hotels and have begun to appear. In a country that’s largely dependent on tourism (23 percent of the country’s population is unemployed), this influx of visitors can be viewed as favorable. With 32 million visitors expected this year, fears grow that the country cannot copeIt’s an extraordinary feat for a country that has battled with bankruptcy, at times has been better known for its protests and riots and, only three years ago, narrowly escaped euro ejection. One way is keeping the destination open all year so to extend the season but more has to be done,” he stressed.In efforts to decongest the island, Santorini‘s municipal authority and the Port Fund of Thira this year launched a pilot Although the situation has somewhat improved, Konstantinidis said that t“Building more hotels on the island is not the solution as if this continues “As we speak there are no control mechanisms… Just imagine that Santorini’s urban planning department has only one engineer to oversee six islands,” Mayor Zorzos added.Signup to receive our daily travel-tourism industry newsletter.Signup to receive our daily travel-tourism industry newsletter.Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the author and/or owner is
But with forecasts predicting record numbers over the next decade, a growing number are asking: can Greece really cope?The prominent environmentalist Nikos Chrysogelos says: “We can’t keep having more and more tourists.” He says he now shudders at the prospect of record numbers of arrivals.
“We can’t have small islands, with small communities, hosting 1 million tourists over a few months.