Greece plans to reduce the number of cruise ships visiting its popular tourist destinations. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the country’s prime minister, announced that he will place caps on how many cruises can travel to Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, according to Bloomberg.
“I think we’ll do it next year,” Mitsotakis told news outlets.
Islands like Mykonos and Santorini are popular tourist destinations. Since the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic boosted tourism overall, more visitors than ever before have been seeking out the islands. The European Travel Information and Authorization System reported last week that there were 120% more tourists in Greece during the first quarter of this year compared to 2019, “even surpassing the high levels” of the pre-pandemic period.
However, the islands are struggling to keep up with the demand. Greece’s ombudsman released a report stating that large investments need to be made to make the country’s tourism industry a sustainable source of economic output, Reuters reports.
“Our country’s economy relies heavily on tourism which makes the need to manage it in a sustainable way even more urgent,” the report said, adding that Greece must not “exhaust its potential, wasting it and making our tourist destinations unattractive over time.”
Bloomberg reports that cruise ship traffic has increased so much that it’s crowding out other tourist visits to the Aegean islands. These tourists might otherwise spend more money than cruise ship passengers who aren’t booking hotel rooms and spending in other areas.
By limiting the number of cruise ships, Greece aims to create a more balanced and sustainable tourism sector. This move is expected to help preserve the beauty and appeal of its popular islands for future generations.
