Santorini welcomed its first cruise ship of the season on Sunday, March 22 after February’s swarm of small earthquakes led to a state of emergency and fears the tourist season would be lost.
The Celestyal Discovery arrived with 1,700 mostly American visitors, signalling a hopeful return to normality.
“It’s exciting to know that the island’s open again and we get to visit first,” 67-year-old Deborah Terry, one of the cruise passengers, said.
Locals, whose livelihoods depend on the 2.5 million tourists who visit the Greek island annually, expressed relief.
“The cloud seems to be lifting,” shop owner Tassos Kontos told Reuters.
No major damage was reported during the earthquake swarms, but authorities plan to build an evacuation port in case of future quakes.
Source: Ekathimerini
