Both Greek islands are facing an overtourism problem. In 2023, some 800 cruise ships brought 1.3 million passengers to the island of Santorini, which has only 15,500 inhabitants.
Greece will impose a 20 euro fee on cruise passengers stopping at the popular islands of Mykonos and Santorini, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Sunday (September 8).
Santorini, a key stopover for cruises in Greece for its famous sunsets, is close to saturation and the authorities are considering restricting access.
“Greece does not have a structural problem of overtourism. It has a problem in certain destinations, certain weeks or months of the year,” commented Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“The cruise industry has put pressure on Mykonos and Santorini, so the fare will be 20 euros,” he added at a press conference at an international fair, without specifying when this measure will come into force.
In 2023, some 800 cruise ships brought 1.3 million passengers to the island of Santorini, home to just 15,500 people, according to the Greek Ports Association. Of the record 32.7 million tourists who visited Greece last year, about 3.4 million – or one in ten visitors – went to Santorini.
Limit the number of ships
The Prime Minister intends to “intervene on the number of ships arriving at a destination at the same time”, judging it necessary “to put the brakes on islands where we consider that the limits of the infrastructures are being tested”.
In a recent summer interview with AFP, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said that it was necessary to establish “quotas”, with local authorities having already set a limit of 8,000 cruise passengers per day in Santorini for next year.
“It is impossible for an island like Santorini… to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time,” the Minister of Tourism said.
Greece saw record numbers last year, despite deadly wildfires and a long heatwave. According to Olga Kefalogianni, 2024 is expected to be “another record year”.
