Greek tour operator hits back after officials scramble to curb tourism on popular island
It comes after the mayor of a Greek island beloved by Britons proposed arrivals via cruises be limited to 8,000 a day, in a move backed by the country's prime minister.
A tour operator at a Greek holiday hub beloved by British sunseekers has hit back at plans to clamp down on cruise ship passengers insisting "overtourism doesn't exist".
It comes after the mayor of Santorini, Nikos Zorzos, proposed arrivals to the island via cruises be limited to 8,000 a day, in a move backed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Mr Mitsotakis previously told Bloomberg that the measure, designed to ease congestion and provide relief to overwhelmed locals, is set to come in next year.
But Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator who has lived on the island for 18 years, told CNN Traveller: "Overtourism doesn’t exist. What I see is a lack of structures.
"The truth is that the island is empty. Right now is like never before, it’s the worst season ever."
Mr Chimenti further claimed "the hotels right now are more or less under 30 percent of a normal season," adding that images on social media are "showing something completely different from what is the reality".
Meanwhile, Maria Deligianni, the Cruise Lines International Association’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said concerns over crowding could be addressed by spreading out where cruises land on the island.
She said in a statement: "Recently, the growth of tourism in Greece has garnered significant attention, particularly concerning the islands of Santorini and Mykonos.
"Santorini has one of the most important archaeological sites right now in Europe. Why are cruise ships not organising tours to the archaeological sites?
"If you split the people in three parts of the island, so at different times they are doing multiple things? They have time to enjoy and you will never have crowds in any part of the island."
On peak days during the busy holiday season, as many as 17,000 people arrive via cruise ship on the Cyclades island, according to CNN Travel reports.
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Santorini starts to become overcrowded due to tourism
Last year, some 800 cruise ships made stops in the Aegean to visit Santorini. As many as 1.3 million passengers visited the island, estimated to have a population of around 15,000 permanent residents.
Justifying the cruise curbs, Mr Mitsotakis previously told Bloomberg that Santorini is the "most sensitive", followed by Mykonos, where almost 750 cruise ships dropped anchor in 2023 - a 23 percent jump on the previous year.
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," he said, adding that the island "can’t afford it, even in terms of security."
Princess Cruises previously opted to remove some Santorini stops from its Sun Princess itineraries this summer due to "cruise chip congestion".
Build-ups of tourists have been a growing concern on the island, with videos showing enormous queues clogging the area's promenades and narrow walkways, prompting locals to come out in support of the proposed cap.
