If one were to search for the most frequently spoken word of this summer, “hypertourism” would be a strong contender. This term accompanies news of demonstrations in Barcelona, it becomes a caption on images of tourists crowded into alleys (a few days ago, in fact, the issue of overcrowding in the streets of the Caldera in Santorini and the decrease in tourism became a topic on the CNN website as well).
Hypertourism is also at the forefront of the debate as to whether it is the cause of the decline in tourism in particularly popular destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos, or whether the decline (if any) is to blame for so much talk about it.
The data
First data: According to the AirData Tracker of the Institute of Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), which records the bookings of airline seats, in the two international airports of the Cyclades in July a drop is observed (Santorini -2% and Mykonos -6.8% from the corresponding month last year). With a noticeably improved image, but always with a negative sign (-0.5% for Santorini and -1.8% for Mykonos), the booking of seats is recorded in August.
This specific element may be indicative, but, as market players argue, it does not lend itself to safe conclusions.
And this is because, as these are the only international airports of the Cyclades, they can be used to arrive from abroad for any of the islands. The same ambiguity applies to the case of ferry tickets.
“The islands still have half of August and the whole of September ahead of them, not to mention October. The real picture will be formed at the end of the year” says a market person
However, traffic from Heraklion to the Cyclades in the first ten days of July recorded a -30% drop from the corresponding period in July 2023.
Second fact: Reduction exists. For example in Santorini, according to the data provided to us by Mr. Antonis Pagonispresident of the Santorini Hotel Association, occupancy is currently -15% in overnight stays (from last year) and -20% in financial performance.
To have an order of magnitude in mind, it is enough to think that the island has about 90,000 registered beds and this means that it needs 100,000 people a day to have 100% occupancy – as much as about 10% of Greek tourism.
The market cycle
Looking for the reasons for this decline, Mr. Pagonis estimates that many factors may play a role. “First of all the market cycle. Don’t forget that Santorini is an island that has been on the rise for 10 years. Secondly, there are factors such as the Olympics, the elections, the Euro, which affect travel. Thirdly, the economic situation of all the markets also has a significant weight. America e.g. is in trouble, so is Australia, Europe is starting to enter a new era of austerity.”
“Let’s wait”
The fact that there is a decrease in tourism in both Santorini and Mykonos is something that Mr. Yannis Roussos, president of the Chamber of Cyclades. But he suggests not to rush. “To be able to be precise, we will have to wait until the end of the year – because the landscape is very changeable. And since the islands still have half of August and the whole of September, not to mention October, the real picture will have formed at the end of the year.”
But he also mentions something else: that there may be a decrease in the number of tourists in some islands of the Cyclades and not in others, but in all of them there is a decrease in the economic result (always with the reservation of waiting until the season is over). He also points out that any reduction in arrivals at the two international airports is likely to reflect a reduction in the rest of the islands as well. As for hotel reservations? For the next period they are limited. However, in recent years the phenomenon of “last minute” booking is very intense and is influenced by many situations, so one cannot draw safe conclusions.
Lack of planning
To our question if all this talk about hypertourism has affected tourism, Mr. Roussos replies that it has played a negative role: “Although arrivals in Santorini and Mykonos are fewer this year, we must be careful when using words like ‘hypertourism’. But perhaps it is an opportunity to talk about a sustainable and proper management of each island. Because with the lack of zoning plans one use prevents the other and the lack of a proper planning both at the local level for each island and the lack of infrastructure from the central government create a wrong image.
So we all need to become more professional. And because I represent entrepreneurship, and from there some attention is needed and some more correct handling of situations and adaptation to the new data. An example: we suddenly start “shooting” the cruise. If the potential of each destination is properly captured and there is a proper planning, there is no reason to talk about an excessive approach to an island. Everything is a matter of proper planning and, obviously, infrastructure.”
Research: How Greeks see tourism
More in favor, they say almost 8 out of 10
What do the Greeks think about tourism and hyper-tourism, especially those who live in touristic areas? This was the subject of recent research conducted by aboutpeople on behalf of the Eteron Institute. The research was carried out online on a sample of 1,002 men and women aged 17 and over with nationwide coverage, from July 22 to 24 – when the debate about hypertourism had already heated up worldwide and in our country.
67.2% of the respondents who live in tourist areas consider the impact of tourism to be positive or rather positive, while 30.8% characterize it as negative or rather negative.
At the national level, 74.4% evaluated the impact of tourism in Greece positively or rather positively, while 24.4% have the opposite opinion. In terms of the questions on the contentious issue, the main conclusion seems to be that, in the opinion of the respondents, we do not have an overtourism problem as a country yet, but that the risk of such a thing happening is there – hence the need for attention in the immediate future future.
Of particular interest is the discrepancy in responses between those residing in a tourist area and at the national level in relation to the risk of overtourism. While in the first case 54.7% consider that their region does not have overtourism but needs attention in the immediate future, at the national level this percentage drops to 45.6%.
“The more the merrier”
On the contrary, it is almost the same in both cases, (19.3% and 19.6% respectively) the percentage of those who are not worried about overtourism and believe that the more tourists the better.
The research also examines the effects of tourism in Greece in areas such as jobs, the economy, cultural events, rents, punctuality, lifestyle, the character of the country, environmental pollution and the safety of residents.
The positives, at the national level, include (in that order) the economy, jobs and cultural events, while the negatives include the impact of tourism on environmental pollution, punctuality and rents. Areas that are not particularly affected, according to the opinion of the respondents, are the physiognomy/identity of the country, the way of life and the security of the inhabitants.
The numbers
- 74,4% they consider it to have a positive/rather positive effect,
- 24,4% they consider it to have a negative/rather negative effect,
- 67,2% of the residents of tourist areas have a positive image,
- 30,8% of the residents of tourist areas have a negative image,
- 45,6% consider that the country does not yet face a problem of overtourism but attention is needed in the future,
- 30,5% believes that Greece is suffering from overtourism and immediate measures to limit it are needed,
- 19,6% he is not worried about hyper-tourism and believes that the more tourists that come to the country the better.
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