Greece sets course change: Limited cruises against over -tourism!
Greece sets course change: Limited cruises against over -tourism!
Santorini, Griechenland - Greece sees itself exposed to a significant increase in over-tourism, especially on the popular Kykladen Islands such as Santorini and Mykonos, which have received an assessment of 4.2 in the excess tourism index. These destinations are among the most endangered travel destinations worldwide in terms of both locals and tourists. The high number of visitors leads to overcrowded roads, rising prices and a burden on the water resources, which is already critical because water consumption on Santorini has increased considerably in recent years.
The water consumption that has doubled from 2012 to 2019 is particularly alarming. In the three years later, consumption increased by a further 18 percent and within a year afterwards by 22 percent. According to the mayor of Santorini, Nikos Zorzos, the island's desalination capacities were originally designed for 15 years, but in practice they were only sufficient for five years. This development is extremely stressful for the 1,600 inhabitants of Fira, the capital of Santorini.cruise tourism as a stress factor
The Greek government is now planning to introduce stricter rules for cruises in order to counteract over -tourism. Prime Minister Kyriako's Mitsotakis announced that it would limit the berths for ships and to introduce a tender procedure for ships. These measures are intended to prevent too many cruise tourists from deterring other visitors, which could further affect the economic benefits for the islands.
Last year generated cruises a turnover of 847 million euros, which is more than twice as much as in the previous year. However, many cruise tourists spend the night on board and mostly eat on the ships, which reduces the directly generated benefits for local shops. The larger cruise ships, such as the "Norwegian Epic" and the "Odyssey of the Seas", can promote over 4,000 passengers, which further exacerbates the situation on the already overloaded islands.
ecological and infrastructural challenges
The problems of over -tourism are not only limited to the islands of Greece. European cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen also have high values in the excess tourism index and are susceptible to negative effects such as environmental degradation, overload of the infrastructure and an impaired quality of life of the locals. The continued pressure from tourism could reduce the attractiveness of these destinations for all visitors in the long term.
The opinion of Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival, that these restrictions are "unfortunately of course", reflects the necessary urgency with which the topics of sustainability and ecology in the tourism sector must be treated. Chris Theophilides, CEO of Celestyal, suggests an improved berth reservation system in order to become increasing requirements and the fluctuating tourism-friendly
The steps that Greece takes could serve as a model for regions that are very touristy for tourism to protect the balance between economic benefits and ecological sustainability.
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| Ort | Santorini, Griechenland |
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