Greece ponders €20 levy on cruise guests visiting sought-after destinations
The Greek government is looking at new ways to control the number cruise guests visiting sought-after destinations as part of its ongoing efforts to curb overtourism.
Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday (8 September) said cruise tourists to Santorini and Mykonos would be charged a €20 (£16.90) levy during the peak summer months to support local communities.
The intervention, which will be outlined in more detail in the coming weeks, follows plans to cap cruise calls in such destinations, which were discussed by ministers in June.
The government has also announced a temporary freeze on new Airbnb licences in Athens and an increase in the rate of tax on short-term rentals, similar to plans proposed for Barcelona.
“It is not possible for someone who goes to Santorini and pays €1,000, €2,000 a night for a room to feel they’re not enjoying the destination,” Mitsotakis said. “Interventions will be announced next week and we will be quite bold.”
In 2023, cruise passenger arrivals in Santorini increased by 17% year-on-year, according to national media reports, while Mykonos recorded 749 ship visits last year – up by nearly a quarter (23%) compared with 2022.
However, Mitsotakis said he did not believe overtourism in Greece was as serious as in the likes of Barcelona, Venice or Amsterdam, where locals have for years decried rising tourist numbers.
The prime minister said Greece’s problems were contained to certain destinations and certain times. “Greece has a spot problem in some destinations, some weeks or months of the year, which we have to deal with."
Mitsotakis also pushed back against portrayals of Greece as being anti-tourism, pointing towards the sector’s economic contribution – which accounts for around a third of the country’s GDP.
“It’s very dangerous to present Greece as a country that is hostile to tourism,” he continued. “It’s one thing to point out existing weaknesses and another to project an image abroad that Greece is a country that is not hospitable to tourists – because the second is not true.”
TTG has approached the Greek National Tourism Organisation for further comment.
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