The charming Greek island of Santorini turned into a real nightmare on Wednesday after it was stormed by 11,000 cruise ship passengers, according to Quartz.
Santorini is one of the most popular holiday destinations PHOTO GettyImages
Greece attracts tourists from all over, but this comes with both benefits and grievances.
The Greek island, which has a population of 15,500, is a hotspot for the Mediterranean’s thriving cruise ship industry. Santorini can technically accommodate seven such ships at the same time, according to Express. But when they all arrive at the same time, this becomes a problem, especially for the residents.
According to Kathimerini, Panagiotis Kavallaris, the leader of the Thira community in Santorini, advised residents, in a post on social networks, to reduce travel due to the spectacular increase in the number of tourists. The post in question, which has since been deleted, sparked a lot of backlash and criticism, with some suggesting residents were being restricted in the interest of tourism.
On Tuesday, a meeting was held attended by high-ranking officials from various ministries, the mayor of Thira (Santorini), the governor of the South Aegean region and Cyclades parliamentarians. Urgent issues were discussed during the meeting, including the need to limit the number of cruises arriving on the island.
The mayor of Santorini, Nikos Zorzos, told Kathimerini that the number of cruise ship passengers coming to the island should not exceed 8,000 per day. “Starting in 2025, we will reintroduce this threshold to preserve the island as a unique destination,” Zorzos said.
He stated that this year it was not possible to set a limit on the arrivals of cruise ships due to the advance scheduling of these visits.
However, the municipal authority was able to reduce the number of “peak days”, when the number of tourists exceeds 10,000-11,000, from 63 in 2023 to 48 this year.
