Qwater splashing the sand. The skin day. Divers divers. Absolute silence. A grandmother’s hand-cut French fries. The clinking glass of much wine. All that was lost was made up THE Greek summer that we must keep.
His launch tourism, after the end of the crisis and especially after the subsidence of the pandemic, contributed to the strong recovery of the dynamic recovery experienced by the Greek economy in recent years. As an industry that directly or indirectly captures a large part of the population, tourism also strengthens social cohesion, allowing the benefits of recovery to spread. In another sense, however, the unconditional The expansion of tourist traffic and tourist investments has begun to damage the social and ecological balance. The most famous islands are now plagued by the problems of the cities (eg traffic congestion) and are increasingly becoming financially inaccessible for the average Greek income. Traditional activities such as agriculture and animal husbandry often give way to the necessary construction to serve tourists. Infrastructure (water supply, sewerage, waste management) is often on the verge of collapse from the rapid growth of the summer population, while public services (especially health) are also struggling to meet the increased needs.
The South Aegean Region which includes the Cyclades and Dodecanese is judged to be “vulnerable to climate change» from the UN. According to the bad scenario, in 2071-2100 the temperature there will increase by 3-3.6 degrees Celsius from the level of 1961-1990, while the precipitation will decrease by more than 20%. THE hypertourism does not mean many people in one place, but the FRAILTY to cope with its infrastructure, the non-service of the visitor, the bad experience, the traffic problem, the bad quality of life of the residents, the lack of water, the power outage, the difficulty of waste management abandoned by tourists, uncontrolled construction to meet this demand.
The solutions must be given to the decision makers: mayors, regional governors, ministers, in collaboration with the entrepreneurs who operate on the islands and (must) not change the landscape and their identity in the name of temporary gain. But each of us, as a responsible visitor, can set a good example, reduce our ecological footprint and reward tourism service providers who invest in the reliability and sustainability of their product. Here are some basic guidelines in this direction, so that the Greek summer as we love it will be something to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Before traveling, read about the environmental and social and political issues of your destination. If an island suffers from over-tourism, visit it early. On the other hand, if an island is poor or has recently experienced a disaster, such as an earthquake, your visit will improve it.
- Off the plane: Tourism is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. The Swedish word ‘Flygskam’ (the shame of flying) informs the trend.
- Slow ship preferred: Speedboats do not turn off their engines when they dock and have higher emissions than conventional, slower vessels. Enjoy the journey with a bottle of water and snacks from home, such as fruit, instead of the (often expensive) packaged canteen snacks.
- Not on cruise: The environmental footprint of cruise ships is twice that of air travel: One sailing 2,000 km causes 500 kg of CO2 emissions, compared to 235 kg each for a round-trip flight and a stay. 4-star hotel. Some of them run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which causes 120+% more greenhouse gases than oil. Besides air pollution, it also causes water pollution and noise pollution, which affects sea creatures in their daily lives. A large cruise ship has a larger carbon footprint than 12,000 cars, while a one-night stay on a cruise ship uses 12 times more energy than a hotel stay. The total amount of waste produced by a cruise ship carrying 2,700 passengers can exceed one ton per day. Who needs hit and run tourists? Santorini, with 15,500 inhabitants, receives the same number of cruise guests on some days this year. They will go down to the island for a few hours, cause a traffic jam on the road to Oia, maybe just buy a plastic bottle of water or a coffee in a plastic cup and leave, leaving zero receipts and waste.
- Do not bring a car: Avoid the mileage and emissions of taking the car by ferry to the island and prefer to rent there. Better yet, get around on local buses, bicycles, boats or on foot. Most of the islands have marked hiking trails.
- At least four days in one place: The desire for a post with the Caldera of Oia as a background leads to useless lightning visits without time to balance the ecological footprint of the trip.
- Airbnb in moderation: With thousands of Airbnbs popping up, many islands suffer from overbuilding (in theory, half of Paros consists of protected areas, but 470 building permits were issued in 2023 alone ) and a large increase in housing rents. Teachers, doctors, uniformed and other government workers on secondment cannot find a house to carry in their pocket. In addition, Airbnbs pay domestic water and electricity tariffs, i.e. cheaper than hotels, thus losing an important income to strengthen local networks (for example, in a accurate water network excess water in one area is directed to another with a deficiency ).
- Supporting the local economy: Look for hotels that don’t belong to international chains, shop in small grocery stores instead of big supermarkets, buy souvenirs and from local artisans. Go artisanal.
- As little waste as possible: In most islands there is no recycling and, where it is, it is within its limits. Create as little waste as you can. Running out of sunscreen? Take the empty bottle with you on the return journey and do not throw it in the trash on the island
- Prefer the green stamp: More and more hotels are implementing green practices as more and more travelers (mostly foreigners) are looking for green certification.
- Respect the island’s strengths: Before leaving the room, be sure to turn off the air-conditioner, lights and unplug appliances.
- The 3 minute shower: You are on an island with a water problem (only a few mountain villages are free of problems now). Three minutes is enough to wash off the salt. In Paros since 2003 there has not been a single daily rainfall of 100 millimeters. In the same island, from 1,400,000 cubic meters/year in 2014, the demand jumped to 2,300,000 in 2023 (+64%). From 2019 to 2023, water consumption in Tinos will increase by 50%. In Naxos, they had to rent three desalination plants in the summer to cope with the water shortage caused by the drought. To give you an idea of ​​the water paranoia, the legislation prioritizes watering gardens rather than irrigating agricultural land (tourism – agriculture note 1).
- Select the nearest beaches: The fewer trips by car, the better.
- Not in swimming pools: Don’t rent hotels or Airbnbs with pools. Water scarcity is the main problem in most of the islands.
IN THE SEA
- As if you didn’t pass: Do not build towers with stones. Leave pebbles, shells and sand in place, nature put them there for a reason.
- Do not rent beach beds: The less we ask to lean on uncomfortable divans with curtains on the beach, the more we cut off the businessmen who often violate the terms of which they won the concession on the beach.
- Beach sunbeds: On the MyCoast digital platform you can find the terms and conditions for renting a beach and file a complaint with the business if you find it is violating them. No beach can be more than 50% covered by sunbeds, usually 30% is provided.
- Biodegradable sunscreens: Don’t bring any chemical or glitter products that you put on yourself too much.
AT THE RESTAURANT
Choose local products that have not traveled from the other side of the world. If you are in Anafi, do not try the tsorithos. This is an opportunity to try unique products, pasta and cheese that you won’t find anywhere else.
Don’t order fish out of season to increase their illegal fishing (for example, don’t walleye in August!). Do not order fish and seafood whose fishing is illegal (oil tubes, pinnae, pilgrim) or threatened. Do not order chicks that do not have time to give birth. Remember that native fish species such as cod may also be at risk from overfishing. WWF has a detailed fishguide, available and in use.
Three minutes in the shower is enough to wash off the salt. From 2019 to 2023, water consumption in Tinos will increase by 50%. In Paros, demand has been increasing for a decade.
Journalists fighting for the islands
The journalistic initiative “Enduring Cyclades»(sustainablecyclades.gr) focuses on the critical issues facing the South Aegean island complex as it experiences the pressure of hypertourism and the investments that aim to serve it. It seeks to highlight the many sustainability issues associated with the new stage of life in the Cyclades, from the inability of essential infrastructure to cope with the summer population surge to the lack of public services available in islanders, and to contribute to the reflection of local communities on how they can improve without sacrificing the uniqueness of the islands that make them attractive as tourist destinations.