By Valentini Anagnostopoulou
SANTORINI, Greece (Reuters) – Armed with selfie sticks and telephones, the vacationers flood into Santorini from all over the place – on dinghies from large ocean liners, on coaches that zigzag up the steep hillsides, atop donkeys that clip-clop alongside the slim cobbled streets.
Some courageous the afternoon warmth to seek out a great spot among the many white-washed homes and blue-domed church buildings the place they then wait hours to look at the Greek island’s famed sundown. Because the solar dips, many extra be a part of them, squeezing alongside the cliffside or onto balconies, cameras on the prepared.
“This has been my dream since high school,” stated American vacationer Maria Tavarez, 40.
However for a lot of of Santorini’s 20,000 everlasting residents, the as soon as idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine seashores has been ruined by mass tourism.
As protests in opposition to extreme tourism erupt in different common vacation locations, together with Venice and Barcelona, Santorini represents one of many starkest examples of how hoards of holiday makers can influence a spot.
Authorities on the island have joined different tourism hotspots in calling for a cap on guests.
The rising variety of overseas vacationers – some 3.4 million visited the island final 12 months, based on mayor Nikos Zorzos – are placing strain on its outdated infrastructure and are pricing islanders out of the housing market.
Zorzos says he has been pushing authorities for years to not permit a single further mattress on the island and has proposed a cap on the variety of cruise ship guests to eight,000 a day, down from round 17,000.
“It is in the best interest of our land for there to be a limit,” he stated.
‘A MONSTER’
Even enterprise house owners who profit from tourism are nervous.
“Our standards of living have gone down. It’s as simple as that,” stated Georgios Damigos, who runs a 14-room lodge his mother and father opened within the Nineteen Eighties.
“Santorini is a wonder of nature” that dangers turning into “a monster,” he stated.
Santorini’s tourism growth is echoed throughout Greece. Nationwide tourism revenues rose 16% within the first 5 months of this 12 months, information reveals, and 2024 is forecast to outstrip final 12 months’s document 33 million arrivals.
For some on Santorini, extra guests is nice information.
“Everything is possible when there is planning and infrastructure,” stated Alexandros Pelekanos, vice chairman of the island’s umbrella commerce affiliation.
“Do we want money or not? Do we want to have work and revenues or not?” he stated. “You cannot have your peace and quiet and make money.”
The vacationers do not appear to thoughts as they cheerfully trundle previous an indication that reads “RESPECT. It’s your holiday… but it’s our home.”
“It’s hard to walk around the narrow streets but it’s quite beautiful,” stated Portuguese vacationer Rita Critovao. “I would advise everyone to come.”
(Further reporting and writing by Karolina Tagaris in Athens; Enhancing by Edward McAllister)
