Over-Tourism has many famous destinations around the world in a chokehold, and it comes as no surprise that Greece’s famous Santorini is subject to some of the worst crowds of the summer season.
Tourists know and love the idea of Santorini’s white-washed and blue-domed structures, sunny days and striking seas, so much so that the island attracts around 3.4 million visitors a year. Santorini’s population stands at around 20,000, and according to CNN around 17,000 cruise ship passengers peruse the island each day during seasonal peaks.
Santorini is a visual paradise with stunning views, incredible sunsets, and quaint cobblestoned streets, but in reality, locals considered the summer months when tourists flood the streets to take snaps for social media the ‘worst season ever.’
As a result, the Greek island joins the flock of European countries implementing new rules to limit tourism. Mayor Nikos Zorzos has recently proposed to cap the amount of cruise ship passengers allowed on the island to 8,000 a day, cutting the previous number by more than half. Zorzos’ plan is set to be implemented in 2025 with support from Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to Bloomberg.This measure follows a trend sweeping through some of Europe’s tourism hotspots this year. In places like Barcelona and Mallorca, locals have shown their disdain for the effects of over-tourism by holding protests.
During the past two decades, as short-term rentals have taken over cities, and tourism has become a more popular pastime for the general public, it has only made living as a resident in some of the world’s most beautiful cities worse. Short-term rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbo have hiked up housing prices making it impossible for locals to live in cities where previous generations of their families had resided.
Similar precautions as proposed in Santorini have been taken in Venice, which temporarily tested a tourist fee for entering the floating city this summer. In Amsterdam, all new hotels were recently banned from development. Just over the past week, CNN reports Venice has limited tour groups to just 25 people and has banned megaphones.
