Greece is justifying its decision to target cruise ships for their
contribution to overtourism by pointing to the impact cruise ship
visitors have on islands such as Santorini and Mykonos.
Cruise ship visitors to popular destinations in Greece will need to pay €20 (US$22) during the peak summer period.
“Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why
we are proceeding with interventions,” said Greek prime minister,
Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Last year 1.3 million cruise passengers visited Santorini (pop.15,500) onboard 800 ships.
Approximately 750 cruise ships visited Mykonos, which was up 23% on the year before.
Additionally, there are plans to limit the number of cruise ships
simultaneously arriving in one destination. By 2025, the government will
limit the daily number of cruise passengers allowed in Santorini to
8,000 to mitigate overcrowding.
A check of the Cruisemapper website shows that on 11 September this
week, the following cruise ships were visiting Santorini: Costa
Deliziosa, Celestyal Journey, MSC Lirica, Wind Star and Carnival
Legend.
And a day later, 12 September, these ships were due in Santorini:
Celestyal Journey, Mein Schiff 5, Star Clipper, Norwegian Pearl, Costa
Fortuna and Celestyal Discovery.