Tourexpi
While
all indicators point to a record-breaking year for tourism in Greece, a
prominent Greek expert has warned that the economic windfall from this boom
comes with “a heavy cost.”
The
problem of overtourism is a stark reality for Greece and represents a “a great
danger,” Katerina Kikilia, head of the Department of Tourism Management at the
University of West Attica, told Anadolu.
Greek
islands and even the capital Athens have already exhausted their capacity to
host tourists, she warned.
“Greece
succeeded in attracting more tourists and extending the tourism season,
consequently boosting its tourism income, which is of profound importance for
the economy, in the post-pandemic period. But this came with a heavy cost,”
said Kikilia.
Athens,
now a year-round destination which was visited by some 7 million people in
2023, is among the places feeling the burden of overtourism the most, she said.
One
of the primary and most obvious consequences of overtourism in Athens is the
housing crisis, she said.
“So
many areas and neighborhoods of Athens have been occupied by short-term rental
accommodation and have become tourist accommodation hubs, resulting in a
shortage of houses for rent for workers, students and families,” she explained.
The
problem, she added, has been exacerbated by the influx of golden visa investors
who purchased real estate in the capital.
“For
example, in the central neighborhood of Koukaki, school headmasters complain
about the significantly decreasing number of pupils, as many families who
couldn’t afford the skyrocketing rents had to move out,” said Kikilia.
Elaborating
on the cascading effects of overtourism, she said it leads to increased prices
in supermarkets, restaurants and cafes, as well as other essential services,
pilling more pressure on a local population already struggling with a serious
cost-of-living crisis.
Another
area under threat is the sphere of culture and heritage, said the expert.
“We
are in danger of losing our cultural elements. We have very strong cultural
heritage and traditions. Yet, as part of efforts to satisfy the needs of
tourists, we’re starting to change and adjust all that to what tourists want,”
she said.
“That
is a great danger for Greece.”
Need
for ‘a master plan’
The
tourism sector is absolutely essential for the Greek economy, which is “exactly
why we need to make it more sustainable,” said Kikilia, a professor of tourism
management.
“Greek
authorities are already aware of the problem and working to develop solutions,
like stricter regulations for short-term rentals,” she said.
“However,
what is required is a master plan that entails closer cooperation between local
and central state authorities in many domains, including health and
transportation infrastructure and environmental protection.”
Kikilia
stressed the need to involve the EU in planning for sustainable tourism
policies, particularly since “overtourism is a phenomenon faced by many other
countries … such as Spain, Italy and Croatia.”
One
of the issues being seen currently is that tourist numbers are increasing but
the spending per tourist is not, said Kikilia.
“A
huge number of tourists does not mean huge revenues for the country or for the
businesses in the sector,” she explained.
“So,
we need to restrict the tourism flows. We need to be more selective. We need to
attract more tourists from middle and high-income classes, instead of those
coming with a tight budget.”
She
warned, however, that simply increasing prices of goods and services to ward
off people with less spending power would not be a sustainable solution.
One
way to make the Greek tourism sector more sustainable is to promote other
alternatives, such as wellness, culture or rural and mountain tourism, along
with the lesser known places in the country that have strong tourism potential,
said Kikilia.
Image
Credit: © AA
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