Greece Plans To Cap Cruise Ship Numbers At Most Popular Islands

In an effort to cope with the effects of overtourism in Greece, the country’s government is planning to cap the number of cruise ships visiting its most popular islands. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the time has come to restrict the number of ships and their passengers, and this will likely happen next year.

Greece to cap cruise ship numbers visiting the islands

Since the end of the pandemic, travel has reached new heights leading to overtourism affecting popular destinations. Some places in the world, including Barcelona and Venice, have capped the number of visiting cruise ships to mitigate the effect and now Greece’s government plans to do the same.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke with Bloomberg, saying that the time has come to place restrictions on cruise ships visiting the most popular Greek islands.

“I think we’ll do it next year,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the new rules could see the total number of island berths restricted. Alternatively, a bidding process could be introduced for the slots.

A major drawback of this move could be that Greece relies on tourism for around 25 percent of its economic output. Meanwhile, since the pandemic, the country has smashed records for the number of tourists visiting and spending.

In 2023, Greece welcomed 32.7 million tourists, 18 percent more than the previous year. Meanwhile, the first quarter of 2024 has seen an almost 25 percent rise in visitors. A lot of this stems from cruise ships, as cruises generated €847.4 million ($910 million) in 2023, which was more than double the figure in 2022.

What would be the effect on tourism?

While the tourist industry could be concerned over the Prime Minister’s decision, the new restrictions are unlikely to have a huge impact on the major tourist sector. Meanwhile, passenger ships will continue to visit most of the islands and many of them are home-ported in Piraeus, near Athens.

However, despite Mitsotakis’ words, there are questions about whether the larger, mega cruise ships deliver enough economic benefits to outweigh the environmental impact.

Santorini in the Cycladic Islands

In the interview, Mitsotakis mentioned the strain of the most popular Greek islands, including the popular Santorini.

“Santorini in itself is a problem,” he said, noting that it is difficult to assess the cruise ships’ contribution to the tourist economy, with the sheer number of ships visiting. Mitsotakis added that other visitors to Santorini could be put off by the traffic generated by the cruise ships. He stressed:

There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped. Plus the island can’t afford it, even in terms of security.

Known for its stunning volcanic landscape and beautiful sunsets, Santorini was the most popular island destination for cruise ships in 2023, with 800 vessels calling. Moreover, according to the Hellenic Ports Association, those ships delivered almost 1.3 million visitors. Reportedly, that is an almost 17 percent increase from 2022. Moreover, despite so many visitors, Santorini is home to only around 15,000 residents.

Other European destinations cutting back on cruise ships

Greece is not alone in having to take action to deal with the effects of its popularity with tourists. Venice banned large cruise ships from the lagoon in 2021 after damage was done to the historic center due to overtourism. Nowadays, tourists are charged a toll to enjoy day visits to the city’s center.

Meanwhile, other popular Greek Islands are suffering besides Santorini, including Mykonos, which saw 749 cruise ship visits in 2023.

“Santorini is the most sensitive, Mykonos will be the second,” the prime minister said. Though many Greek islands are straining under the weight of their popularity, these are the ones “that are clearly suffering.”