The Greek island of Santorini offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the Aegean. But residents argue that their island is suffering from “cruise overkill”.
Now local authorities are acting to restrict visits by increasingly large cruiseships. Officials announced last week that unrestricted calls by the vessels — which on busy days dump more than 12,000 passengers onto the island — have caused uncomfortably cramped conditions that are damaging the overall tourist industry.
Hoteliers have long moaned that the influx is spoiling their business as crowds of cruise passengers scare off long-stay visitors seeking a romantic escape in the expensive cliff-top boutique hotels in the towns of Oia and Fira.
Effective immediately, the island is restricting the number of passengers allowed ashore at any given time to 8,000.
The situation was bad enough last year, when cruiseships made 409 stops at the island. Based on bookings for this year, that number will go up to 439. Bookings have already been received for 451 calls in 2019.
Ilias Pelekis, president of the municipal port fund, said the biggest problem is that cruise operators prefer to schedule visits on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.
They have been told to modify their itineraries and reschedule calls to less busy times. If they are unable to find solutions themselves, the port fund will arbitrarily assign dates and time slots.
Measures to clamp down on the number and size of cruiseships are becoming commonplace, with Dubrovnik, Venice and Bergen recently introducing restrictions.
