An “explosive” growth in Greek islands tourism might seem like something to welcome for the local economy, but locals are despairing as their tiny picturesque villages are overrun with visitors.
At the same time, the record numbers of visitors to Southern Greece are themselves suffering because of extreme temperatures.
Three tourists are known to have died in this current heatwave as temperatures in the region have consistently topped 40C. TV star Dr. Michael Mosley was among them, collapsing as he hiked in scorching temperatures on the holiday island of Symi.
Meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos told Greek state television channel ERT: ”This heatwave will go down in history. In the 20th century, we never had a heatwave before 19 June. We have had several in the 21st century, but none before 15 June.”
Unbearable heat is only worsening fraying tempers. On Santorini, wine producer Matthew Argyros was one of hundreds of Greeks joining in protests against the growing numbers of tourists.
Complaining that developers’ growing demand for land to build more holiday let properties was driving land prices to unattainable levels for farmers, he told Bloomberg: “I’m raising a red flag for the island.”
Tonia Panelaoiu, a retired teacher who lives on Panos, told The Times that she was “in despair” at what has happening to the island. She explained: “Already, Panos has lost 70% of its beauty and authenticity. It’s like living in a big city – the village are full of cars, there is rubbish on the beaches. But still they want more people to come – it’s crazy!”
The outlet explained that the country gives off the impression of being at “breaking point”.
Nicolas Stephanou, 40, has taken matters into his own hands. Last summer, he helped to co-ordinate beach protests on the island of Paros. “We wanted to reclaim the beaches because the beach bars are out of control,” he told The Times.
“But the biggest threat tot he island is the scale of construction, which is irreversible.”
The Cyclades, the island group that includes Paros and more popular islands such as Santorini and Mykonos, have long been a traditional holiday destination for the Greeks themselves. But locals they are being priced out of the market by unscrupulous landlords who can charge up to €10,000 a week for some luxury villas.
They fear that traditional Greek culture will be swamped as the islands are turned into a “theme park for tourists.”
In a bid to tackle overcrowding, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that he plans to introduce legislation to reduce the number of cruise ships permitted to call at ports on the Cyclades.
Mitsotakis said Santorini, which last year saw some 800 cruise ships approaching its shores, is the “most sensitive” to overcrowding, followed by Mykonos, which in 2023 saw 750 cruise ships docking.