Houses at edge of the caldera on the volcanic island of Santorini. File picture.
The Greek island of Santorini, which has a population of 20,000 permanent residents, is finding that mass tourism has ruined the once idyllic island of quaint villages and pristine beaches.
Recently the island experienced over 11,000 cruise passengers arrivals in a single day.
In response to the chaos, the Mayor of Santorini, Nikos Zorzos, announced that a meeting had been held to discuss the imposition of a cruise passenger cap. The island will limit arrivals to 8 000 per day starting in 2025.
The Mayor explained that it was not possible to impose the restriction earlier, because these cruise trips had been planned far in advance.
He added that regulated cruise tourism should not pose problems for the island, and with the construction of a new port, improvements in energy infrastructure and urban planning as well as the regulation of hotels, the island would be able to handle the flood of cruise passengers.
President of the Thira municipal community, Panagiotis Kavallaris, released a social media post urging residents to limit their movements and stay indoors due to an influx of tourists.
The post attracted widespread attention and criticism from the local community, some of whom suggested that residents were being restricted for the benefit of tourism, according to local publication Kathimerini. The post was later deleted.
This comes in the aftermath of last month's anti-tourism protests in Barcelona and the French campaign group, Stop Croisières, which had 50,000 people in Marseille - France’s biggest cruise port - sign a petition against cruise ships.
The city of Palma de Mallorca is also considering reintroducing limits on cruise liners to only allow three ships allowed in port each day with only one permitted to have a capacity of more than 5,000 passengers.
IOL Travel
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