Cruise passengers wishing to visit popular islands in Greece will soon have to pay a €20 fee.
As Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently explained, this is the result of lengthy discussions in the country to introduce concrete measures to restrict cruise tourism.
In future, this will affect the heavily frequented islands such as Santorini and Mykonos. It is currently expected that this new fee will be introduced next spring.
Accordingly, cruise passengers will be charged €20 during the high season to visit some of its most popular islands. According to the authorities, the fee is aimed at curbing tourism and protecting local environments during the summer. This summer, for example, up to five cruise ships were moored off Santorini. Although this leads to higher income for the island’s traders and restaurants, for the locals it means that masses of tourists overrun the islands.
The New York Times recently quoted Prime Minister Mitsotakis on the measures: “Let’s act and slow down wherever necessary on the islands where we believe the situation has reached a point where the infrastructure has reached its limits.”
Greece responds to overtourism
In addition to the €20 fee per person, further measures are likely to follow, including an increase in mooring fees and restrictions on mooring. As a result, cruises will become more expensive from next year, especially in eastern Greece. It is to be expected that the shipping companies will likely add the cost of the fees to the cruise price. Further effects – such as route changes – are not yet foreseeable.
However, it is also to be expected that shipping companies will increasingly call at other destinations in the region in the future. Smaller islands in the region, such as Serifos, Sifnos or Amorgos, some of which have only 1,000 inhabitants, are now fearing that they will be overrun by cruise ships if the shipping companies no longer call at Santorini or Mykonos in future.
Hotels and private accommodations on some Greek islands will probably also charge their guests a higher accommodation tax in the future. The Greek government will shortly announce the complete package of measures.
The problem of so-called “overtourism” is now not only on the agenda in Greece. In the past, other popular destinations such as Venice and Barcelona have also introduced tourist taxes to manage or reduce crowds. New Zealand recently announced that it will triple its entrance fee for foreign visitors to NZ$100 (equivalent to €55.6). (CE)
