Analysis: Is it time for Greece to change its tourism model?

As temperatures soar and tourer arrivals swell, Greece is nether unit to reimagine a tourism exemplary that clime alteration is making progressively untenable.

With its turquoise waters and reliable sunshine, Greece has agelong been a fashionable vacation destination, attracting astir 33 cardinal visitors past twelvemonth and generating 28.5 cardinal euros successful gross ($31.7 billion).

This year’s full visitant numbers are expected to emergence further, arsenic planetary tourism sets caller records from pre-pandemic levels, but the surge successful holidaymakers could undermine the economical mainstay successful the adjacent future.

Anger implicit “overtourism” has adjacent sparked protests successful caller years connected the beaches of the Cyclades, a postulation of Aegean islands.

“People successful Greece are getting much acrophobic that the (Cycladic islands) are changing precise rapidly and, successful a fewer years, what is peculiar is going to beryllium lost,” said Dimitris Vayanos, an economist astatine the London School of Economics.

Greece is not alone. Residents successful different fashionable European destinations accidental visitors are harming the situation and section economies, peculiarly arsenic short-term rentals from home-stay websites similar Airbnb thrust up lodging costs and terms radical retired of their towns and cities.

But Greece is among Europe’s hardest-hit countries by planetary warming, and rising oversea levels, scorching heatwaves, erratic rainfall and predominant wildfires are changing the landscape.

Tourism is placing an other load connected scarce h2o resources and threatening fragile coastal environments, starring to calls from section authorities and the nationalist ombudsman to modulate construction, restrict tourer flows and put successful h2o absorption and infrastructure.

New regulations

The authorities has to equilibrium mitigating these threats against protecting captious tourism earnings. Tourism contributes betwixt 62.8 cardinal euros and 75.6 cardinal euros to the Greek economy, astir a 3rd of gross home merchandise annually, according to the Hellenic Tourism Business Association (INSETE).

A instrumentality successful July updated regulations for tourism agencies, guides and rentals that Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni has said volition marque the state a “global tourism power,” portion of “critically important” efforts to safeguard the manufacture and payment the economy.

But clime alteration poses existential questions for the industry.

A lengthy heatwave successful June, followed by the hottest July connected record, forced tourer attractions to adjacent and caused a spate of heat-related deaths.

Wildfires, made much aggravated and predominant by hotter, drier upwind linked to clime change, besides endanger the tourism industry. A monolithic blaze earlier this period came wrong miles of the superior Athens.

Last year, much than 8,000 wood fires raged crossed the country, and thousands of tourists had to beryllium evacuated from islands, including Rhodes.

“What we privation to spot is that tourism is sustainable oregon adjacent regenerative. It has to put successful conservation of the ecosystem, and it has to assistance with the outgo of managing the tourists connected the ground,” said Megan Epler Wood, manager of the Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) astatine Cornell University successful the United States.

The ombudsman, a Greek authoritative who investigates nationalist complaints, said successful a June study the state needs to trim operation and support h2o resources and coastal areas to support steadfast tourism.

It warned of the increasing biology risks from tourism, peculiarly the further demands connected h2o supplies for drinking, swimming pools and h2o parks.

Who pays?

A aviator study, carried retired by Greek researchers and UNESCO, the U.N. taste agency, recovered that smaller islands successful the Aegean Sea already request treble the magnitude of h2o they tin people nutrient to conscionable request from tourists, which is acceptable to summation twofold by 2030.

“The much these islands are developed, the little charismatic they volition beryllium to visitors,” said Vayanos.

Greece should tailor tourism to marque it much compatible with biology standards, including the usage of zoning, and ore improvement successful circumstantial areas, helium said.

The instauration this twelvemonth of a tourer tax, dubbed the clime resilience fee, is meant to assistance concern betterment from worsening wood fires and floods.

The interest for guests staying successful hotels and short-term rentals is expected to make up to 300 cardinal euros successful further gross successful 2024.

But Epler Wood said that historically, tourer taxes person gone towards destination selling alternatively than benefitting section communities. Research by STAMP recovered water, waste, vigor utilities and affordable lodging often did not summation astatine all.

The Central Union of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) is calling for the gross from the taxation spell to section authorities to assistance them negociate tourists.

There is besides small grounds that tourism taxes trim arrivals, according to a study by strategy institution Group NAO.

Nikos Zorzos, the politician of Santorini, wants to headdress the fig of regular cruise-ship visitors astatine 8,000 from arsenic galore arsenic 17,000 people.

Hotter summers

The interaction of clime alteration successful Greece is not constricted to rising temperatures and different utmost upwind events.

Coastal erosion and declining seagrass meadows, which assistance springiness the Mediterranean Sea its diagnostic turquoise colour, were identified successful summation to floods, h2o shortages, precocious temperatures and drought arsenic threats to tourism successful an INSETE report.

“As summers volition beryllium hotter, extending the tourer play should beryllium a precedence by designing high-quality offerings to pull visitors passim the year. Only successful this mode tin we guarantee sustainable and competitory tourism for Greece,” an INSETE spokesperson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

INSETE besides recommends promoting biodiversity-rich tourism to assistance make concern for conservation and promoting alternatives to formation holidays, specified arsenic agritourism, gastrotourism, wellness and wellness and escapade tourism.

“We’re opening to spot a power towards absorption of tourism, distant from conscionable promotion,” said Ben Lynman, astatine the Travel Foundation, an NGO that works with governments, businesses, and communities to make and negociate tourism.

Investing successful renewable vigor oregon protecting coastal areas and susceptible infrastructure would besides person semipermanent benefits for the tourer destination, said Epler Wood.

“It tin beryllium a affirmative power that tin assistance modulation countries to a little risky and much resilient future.”

[The Thomson Reuters Foundation]