As Santorini ramps up for its high season, tourism stakeholders are working to counter negative press surrounding the seismic activity that disrupted the island earlier this year.

A swarm of small-magnitude earthquakes began in late January and prompted a state of emergency and temporary evacuations on Santorini and nearby islands before easing substantially in recent weeks, local authorities said.

And while no major injuries or damage was reported as a result of the quakes, they did cause a slowdown during a peak booking period for the island.

"I like to call the situation a PR disaster, rather than natural disaster," said Markos Chaidemenos, managing director of Canaves Collection, a luxury hospitality group with four hotels and a villa complex on the island. "The earthquakes have calmed down for some time now, but we still have Santorini being portrayed as a place that was devastated."

Chaidemenos is among hoteliers and travel advisors who said the fallout dampened future bookings.

"We didn't have cancellations, but the flow of incoming reservations has decreased," he said. "January, February and March are big months of incoming reservations for the summer vacation period."

Tourism officials and hoteliers have raced to reassure travellers that everything is back to normal.

On 20 March, Greece's tourism minister, Olga Kefalogianni, said in a statement there are "no issues with the island's tourism and essential infrastructure, which are functioning normally".

The industry has rallied around that message. George Pitsinelis, general manager of the Magma Resort Santorini, part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection, said "life on the island continues as usual", with local businesses, including hotels and restaurants, ready to welcome guests. Santorini's hoteliers, he said, "have implemented regular inspections and structural assessments".

A major milestone was on 23 March, when the island welcomed its first cruise ship of the season, after the quakes forced some ships to cancel Santorini calls.

Pitsinelis said cancellations have been minimal, but some resorts "have noted a slower pace in reservations." Still, he is optimistic, saying interest in Santorini is "exceptionally strong," and he is "confident that 2025 will see guests returning as usual."

Despite the booking dip, Chaidemenos also believes confidence is returning. "The pickup is picking up," he said. "I think we're going to eventually do great. We're very optimistic."

Greek tourism downturn?

Advisors said that Greek tourism overall may see a downturn from record levels in recent years, but not due to seismic concerns.

Katie Brown, an Atlanta-based travel advisor with Travelmation, said broader economic considerations that affect travel decisions are having an impact.

"Getting to Greece is pretty expensive, and people have been paying more attention to 'off-the-beaten-path' European destinations and places where your money might go farther," she said.

Petros Zissimos, managing director for New York-based Hellenic Holidays, offered a similar assessment. "The season will be down this year, there's no doubt about it," he said, pointing to factors including anxiety related to the U.S. election, inflation, high airfares and pricing volatility.

He added that years of talk about peak-season crowds have dramatically shifted visitation patterns.

"There have been all sorts of pundits saying, 'Don't visit Greece in July and August, because it's super busy,'" he said. "But what's happened is [tourists have] all decided to go in June and September."

The result has left the traditional peak months with unexpected availability.

"Hoteliers are now coming back to us and saying, 'Hey, we really would like to make some sort of effort for July and August,'" he said. "So, they're offering incentives for people to come, because Greece in July and August is absolutely beautiful."

Source: Travel Weekly