It’s no secret, the streets of Santorini grow increasingly congested as the weather heats up.
While many have waited their whole lives to witness the island and its blue domes for themselves, for many of Santorini’s 20,000 permanent residents, the once utopian island has now been spoiled by mass tourism.
As other popular holiday destinations, including Venice and Barcelona, take a stand against mass tourism, Santorini depicts the severely detrimental impact hoards of visitors can have on a place.
With over three million visitors a year, business owners and facilities themselves find they’re under immense pressure as they were not built to be equipped to cater for such a capacity.
The fallout from this pressure has forced authorities to consider a cap on visitors.
According to Ekathimerini, the second-generation owner of a 14-room hotel, Georgios Damigos expressed his concerns over the annual flocking of tourists. “Our standards of living have gone down. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
“Santorini is a wonder of nature” that risks turning into “a monster,” Mr Damigos said.
Source: Ekathimerini.
