Greek islands ‘to limit some tourists’ as protests grow in Mediterranean

Greek islands are considering limiting some tourists they are allowed to visit amid concerns about “over-tourism” causing tensions with residents. Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said restrictions on cruise passengers must be imposed and said they could come as soon as 2025.

In an interview, Mr Mitsotakis said the number of ships allowed to berth could be limited and that any limit would be applied to Santorini first, followed by Mykonos. Mr. Mitsotakis told Bloomberg that a cap could involve limiting the number of berths on the islands or establishing a bidding process for cruise lines to win slots. “I think we will do it next year,” he said. “Santorini is the most sensitive,” Mr. Mitsotakis told Bloomberg. “Mykonos will be second.”

Greece received 32.7 million tourists in 2023, 18% more than the previous year, while the first quarter of 2024 saw a nearly 25% increase in visitor numbers. Cruises generated €847.4m (£716m) in revenue last year, more than double the figure for 2022. The suggestion follows Princess Cruises’ decision to drop Santorini from some of its Sun Princess voyages this summer due to potential “overcrowding”.

Post-pandemic tourism growth has run into trouble in other parts of the Mediterranean. Earlier this month, thousands of people took to the streets in the Balearic Islands to protest mass tourism and overcrowding. Demonstrators marched through Menorca and Mallorca on Saturday in the latest protests against the “massification” of tourism in Spain’s island regions.

Carme Reines, from a collective that organized the protest in Palma de Mallorca, said: “We want the authorities to stop people who haven’t lived here for more than five years buying property and put more controls on holiday homes “.

Javier Carbonell, an estate agent from Mallorca, added: “We want less mass tourism and more sustainable tourism.” On Sunday, June 16, in Mallorca, around 300 locals occupied a beach, with some protesters shouting “tourists go home”.

This latest demonstration was a stand against overcrowding, which makes visiting the beach difficult for residents, according to local newspaper Majorca Daily Bulletin. Organizers said: “We want to spend a day at the beach with people from here. To do that we had to come at eight in the morning, otherwise it would have been impossible.”