Swamped paradise isle Santorini launches tourist crackdown after hellish summer blighted by shoulder-to-shoulder crowds
A POPULAR Greek island has cracked down on overcrowding after a hellish summer.
The Greek government has launched a war on tourism and is set to ban new hotels on the popular island of Santorini.
It comes after videos showed hordes of tourists shoulder to shoulder in the narrow laneways.
Greek authorities plan to suspend all construction licences on hotel and holiday rentals, and pools in Santorini’s caldera zone, where hordes of tourists pose for sunset photos.
The draft legislation by the environment ministry will be voted on by parliament.
The decisive action aims to address the growing concerns over environmental issues along with over-tourism.
The ban on new building along the caldera was proposed partly in response to appeals by Santorini’s mayor Nikos Zorzos who asked the Greek government to intervene.
Zorzos told the Greek Reporter: “When the needs keep increasing, new consecutive problems will build up which we won’t be able to resolve – the increasing need for water and electricity, for instance, which we have worked hard to get to their present level, and (which) we keep working on.”
The proposed planning ban comes after Zorzos looked to introduce caps on visitors to the island, reducing the number from 17,000 per day to 8,000.
He said the huge number of visitors is putting pressure on infrastructure and pricing residents out of the housing market.
He said: “It is in the best interest of our land for there to be a limit.”
Last year, 3.4 million tourists visited the island, part of the Cyclades group.
A Santorini business owner said he was worried by the over tourism.
Georgios Damigos, who runs a 14-room hotel said: “Santorini is a wonder of nature that risks turning into “a monster.”
“Our standards of living have gone down. It’s as simple as that.”
However not everyone seems to mind the throngs of tourists visiting the island.
Alexandros Pelekanos, vice president of the island’s umbrella trade association said:
“Everything is possible when there is planning and infrastructure.
“Do we want money or not? Do we want to have work and revenues or not?
“You cannot have your peace and quiet and make money.”
Known for it’s iconic sunsets, Santorini is one of the more popular Greek islands.
Footage of the picture perfect island showed hundreds of tourists clashing for sunset selfies.
Hundreds were seen queuing up in narrow walkways to reach the clifftop of the village – a short walk that can now take more than 20 minutes because of overcrowding.
It’s left locals upset at the overcrowding issues tourism has caused.
Local resident Onur Kilic, 28, told iNews: “Too many people come to Santorini and they leave rubbish behind.
“It’s hard for locals because we live here. The roads are too crowded and the traffic is much worse; it’s bad for the environment and the cost of everything is out of control, locals cannot pay as prices have gone up.”