New Cruise Tax To Be Introduced For Visitors To Greece’s Most Popular Islands

Summertime cruisers in Santorini and Mykonos will be subjected to a new €20 fee starting in 2025 as a governmental measure to regulate overtourism in Greece.

According to Reuters, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the tax on September 8. A speech about Greece’s economic plans for 2025 reportedly shared the information. The prime minister allegedly said part of the cruise tax revenue will help local communities improve infrastructure.

“Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem … Some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with,” the leader said. “Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions.”

Authorities will regulate the number of tourists on cruise ships to certain destinations. Moreover, higher taxes on short-term rentals were mentioned, and new licenses for vacation lodgings were prohibited within the country. Mitsotakis reportedly also spoke of implementing environmental protections and methods of handling water shortages.

What’s The Outlook Of Travel For Tourists? What Has The Overtourism Looked Like?

The news follows a scorching summer in Greece, during which several tourist deaths made headlines. In an August interview with the Guardian, Santorini’s mayor, Nikos Zorzos, expressed his objection to overtourism. By year’s end, Santorini expects 34 million tourists, a stark contrast to its 25,000 residents.

“We live in a place of barely 25,000 souls and we don’t need any more hotels or any more rented rooms,” Zorzos stated .

“There have been times when the pressure is unbearable,” he continued, allegedly referencing times when multiple cruises dock simultaneously. “Everywhere jam-packed with people who have no time to stop, no time to enjoy, who are actually full of angst, because they are so rushed.”