Visiting some of Greece’s most popular islands could soon get more expensive, as the local government plans to institute a new tax for visitors who arrive by cruise ship.
Reuters reported recently that government officials have been trying to come up with a new strategy that would curb a major problem that some of Greece’s most popular islands have been facing over the last few years — overtourism.
The extra tax amounts to €20, or $22, per person who visits the islands of Mykonos or Santorini.
The Bank of Greece said that between the months of January and June this year, more than 11 million people visited the country. That resulted in the country bringing in roughly $7 million in travel receipts.
At a recent press conference, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister of Greece, said:
“Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem. … Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with.
“Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions.”
Greece is a very popular vacation destination for Americans, as 209,300 people visited the country in 2023, the Bank of Greece said.
Reuters reported that it’s possible the Greek government could ultimately decide to limit how many cruise ships are allowed to arrive at particular destinations in the country. They could limit it to a certain number per day or week, for example, for those two islands and any others that are experiencing problems.
Other European countries are facing issues with overtourism.
A recent report put out by the European Parliament on overtourism said:
“The effects of overtourism are potentially severe and both natural and cultural heritage sites are at risk of losing their appeal as desirable tourism destinations due to it.”
They said that the excessive crowds can actually serve as a deterrent to people from coming to their countries in the future, due to the expectations that it’s going to be a nightmare to get there, move around and have fun.
In addition, all those extra visitors in certain areas could end up causing issues between tourists and local residents, who still use the cities as their living places and must get around for their day-to-day needs.
That’s why Venice started a new pilot program that charges people who visit for only one day a fee to enter the city. This is meant to reduce how many people go into the city on what officials term are peak days.
A similar plan is being drafted by Rome officials, in which time slots would be allocated for visitors at popular sites such as the Trevi Fountain. This would limit guests to only entering at certain time periods, instead of allowing a free-for-all at the attraction.
At the same time, Rome would be able to collect extra fees from these tourists who want to visit the fountain.
