Summer holidays in Greece may never be the same again. Here’s why

When Icarus made his escape from the island of Crete with wings made of feathers and wax, he ignored the warning not to fly too close to the sun. Overcome by the thrill of flight, he soared too high, the heat melted the wax, and he fell into the sea and drowned. Icarus’s story is a cautionary tale on the dangers of overambition. It also serves as an effective metaphor for the crossroads Greece’s tourism industry finds itself at today.

Tourism has long been one of Greece’s economic pillars, contributing €21.7bn to the economy in 2024 alone. But after decades of growth, cracks are beginning to show. The country is grappling with overtourism, infrastructure strain, housing shortages, and the escalating impact of the climate crisis – all of which threaten to upend the very charm that draws millions of visitors each year.

Last summer, Greece’s ombudsman issued a report calling for urgent reform to address these issues. “Our country’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which makes the need to manage it in a sustainable way even more urgent,” the report said. It warned that Greece must not “exhaust its potential, wasting it and making our tourist destinations unattractive over time”.

Santorini’s slowdown

One of the most iconic victims of this pressure is Santorini. The Cycladic island, famous for its sunsets, whitewashed buildings, and volcanic beaches, has seen a drop in visitor numbers this summer.

Airport data from January to May shows arrivals decreased by 24.4 per cent annually, according to reports – a notable shift for an island that has hosted more than 5.5 million annual visitors despite having just 15,550 residents.

Cruise ship Celestyal Discovery arrives on the island of Santorini (Reuters)

Cruise tourism, although recently capped at 8,000 visitors per day, has brought up to 18,000 passengers to Santorini daily during peak season, straining the island’s resources.

Rapid growth has led to overcrowding, congestion, and environmental damage, all of which have been noticed by prospective visitors. A widely reported swarm of 1,200 earthquakes between 25 January and 7 February this year also did little to help.

Demonstrators protest against mass tourism in Barcelona, Spain, last June (AP)

While the mass anti-tourist protests seen in Barcelona and elsewhere in Europe have yet to erupt in Greece, frustration is mounting. In Athens, locals are increasingly concerned about the proliferation of Airbnbs and the hollowing out of community life, claiming central neighbourhoods are becoming a “tourism Disneyland”.

Paradise Iost

As visitor numbers fall in Santorini, other islands are seeing a surge, forcing local governments to effectively “spin plates” with tourism management – not ideal for a country more famous for smashing them.

Dimitri Vayanos, a professor of finance and member of Greece’s influential Pissarides Committee on economic growth, is watching closely from the island of Ios, where he has been involved in local efforts to combat overdevelopment.

“There’s been little change since the ombudsman’s report,” he says. “It’s more of the same.”

Passengers off the earthquake-struck island of Santorini board a ferry bound for the Greek mainland (AP)

Vayanos believes many smaller islands are now repeating the mistakes of Mykonos and Santorini: “They’re being overbuilt, with little concern for protecting their character.” He adds that authenticity, agriculture and local products are at the heart of Greece’s tourism product. “But tourism is draining the resources that sustain them.”

Water shortages, exacerbated by climate change, are also a major problem. “Even where water is scarce, people are building big developments with pools,” he adds.

Though Vayanos sees potential for growth in underdeveloped areas, he fears Greece is playing a dangerous game of tourism “whack-a-mole”. Where one island declines, another rises and sees similar issues.

The tide turns

Ferry companies are already reporting shifting travel patterns. According to Ferryhopper, routes once centred on Santorini are seeing reduced interest, replaced by island hopping between Ios, Milos and Mykonos. Rival site Ferryscanner reported a 50 per cent drop in bookings to Santorini by American tourists and a 33 per cent drop to Mykonos.

A busy beach on Lefkada, Greece (Rich Booth)

British tourists are also breaking away from traditional destinations. Lefkada, Sougia, Fournoi and Kastellorizo have all seen interest soar by more than 200 per cent, with Lefkada recording a 1,167 per cent spike in ferry bookings compared to 2024, according to the Ferryscanner data.

The Greek National Tourism Organisation welcomes the shift, adding that any drop in Santorini does not reflect waning interest in Greece overall and that the country is encouraging a more diverse spread of destinations.

“This tourism season, Greece is experiencing an overall increase in visitor numbers compared to last year, in general and from the British market specifically, reaffirming its strong position as one of the world’s leading destinations,” says Eleni Skarveli, Greece’s national tourism director for the UK and Ireland.

The tourism board also claim a surge in interest for smaller, lesser-known islands like Naxos, Tinos, Kythnos, Kea, Sifnos, or Kythira.

The Greek government has said it is taking steps to future-proof its tourism model. Eleni reports an ambitious €322m (£277m) strategy. The plan includes €160m (£137m) to upgrade tourist ports and €56m (£48m) for developing mountain and winter tourism, including ski resorts.

Overcrowded islands

On Zante, the alarm bells rang earlier this year when a report by Which? Travel, based on EU data, named the Ionian island Europe’s most overcrowded resort. With only 40,000 residents, it recorded six million overnight stays in 2023 – 150 per resident.

Locals report roads, sewage systems, and other infrastructure buckling under the pressure.

But Bluebell Tuck, a British expat who has lived in Zante for 30 years and owns O’Callaghans Loft bar in Laganas, claims that any suggestion of overtourism hasn’t caused friction with the locals: “They welcome it with open arms, they know that tourism is our industry. We all know there’s no way the island can survive on olive oil and farming alone.”

She claims Zante is set to be as busy as ever this summer, but the rise in all-inclusive hotels sees less money distributed across the island’s other businesses.

The famous Navagio shipwreck beach in Zante – one of the most popular shores in the world (Getty/iStock)

Despite the continued flow of tourists, she says that those who rely on tourism in Zante are not complacent and have seen cautionary tales from elsewhere in Greece, comparing it to Kavos in Corfu and Faliraki in Rhodes, both of which have seen a reported drop in British tourists in recent years. She says that her bar’s DJ has recently left Cavos after 10 years, describing it as “dead”.

Though Tuck believes Zante still has a future – thanks in part to constant reinvestment by local businesses – she, like many others, is critical of a lack of government investment: “Here people are building really beautiful beach bar venues, they are investing in boats for tourists to rent out, we have nice restaurants and beautiful shops. We are actually investing our money back into the island. The problem is the government doesn’t.” She points to issues with waste collection as an example of a lack of investment.

Water scarcity is also a long-standing concern. In Zante, many businesses now rely on privately purchased water to keep running, and on nearby Lefkada, residents faced water outages for much of this summer.

Wildfires and the climate crisis

Earlier this summer, the Acropolis – the nation’s ancient iconic attraction – was forced to shut its gates to visitors as temperatures in Athens soared above 40C. Meanwhile, firefighters again battled devastating wildfires across Greece, with Zante burning for much of August. As the Acropolis bakes under the relentless sun, it stands as a stark reminder that even the strongest monuments are vulnerable. Greece’s tourism sector, for all its might, is no different.

A study by the National Observatory of Athens suggests that the country could see 15 to 20 more “extreme heat days” per year by 2050.

Tourists AT the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis Hill in June (AP)

Hotels and resorts are scrambling to respond. Some are redesigning their outdoor spaces to include shaded areas, misting systems, and heat-resistant landscaping. Greek Tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni recently announced plans to promote “climate-resilient tourism”.

The Greek National Tourism Organisation has worked hard to promote the country as a year-round destination, urging travellers to visit in spring or autumn to relieve the peak summer strain.

Yet many argue these measures fall short and, without coordinated reforms, fear the country risks repeating Icarus’s fatal error: “Mykonos and Santorini have already been overbuilt. It’s irreversible.” Dimitri warns, adding that unless Greece rethinks tourism from the ground up – balancing economic benefits with sustainability – the country could risk losing what makes it special in the first place.

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