“A few days ago, 19,000 people arrived on the island by cruise ships in a few hours. We have made a big effort so that the 63 days of this summer, which will be very difficult (including boat arrivals cruise), be reduced to 48. But this number of people is impossible to serve properly.
THE mayor Santorini Nikos Georges spoke during the day “Insularity and Sustainability: Islands on the Edge”, organized yesterday by the Hellenic Society for Environment and Culture (ELLET) and the University of the Aegean, about the situation in which the island now finds itself ‘island. He continues by saying “From 2012 to 2019, water consumption doubled. From 2019 to 2022, it increased by 18%, from 2022 to 2023 by 22%. Desalination, which we had calculated would cover us for 15 years, is finally arrived for 5 years The island’s electricity consumption increased from 32.5 MW during the peak season in 2019 to 59 MW last year and will exceed 65 MW this year. be achieved, in April we recorded an increase in the number of visitors of 31% compared to last year and in May of 28%. The most serious problem, however, is excessive construction, as irreparable damage is caused. and the landscape is not restored..
Double-edged sword
As for infrastructure, Mr. Georges will declare “I hear some people say that we need to improve infrastructure. Will infrastructure replace the lost landscape? With 20% of the island built, will we open new roads? Whatever intervention is undertaken, it will not will only slightly improve the conditions, but at the same time it will encourage the future growth of tourism on the island. Soon our place will no longer be viable. If the State continues to refuse to curb the construction and authorization of tourist units, Santorini will be destroyed.”
Analogously – of course in terms of scale – the situation in Serifos also, as described by the island’s mayor Kostas Revinthis. “People come to islands like Serifos to take a break from their daily lives. What will it be like when he gets stuck in traffic for 20 minutes and misses the ferry? How is this going to happen when he paid 200 or 300 euros for a room and he won’t have water to take a shower? Ait is hypertourism, which some say does not exist, when tourists cannot be served. The situation is similar when it comes to construction: there are so many newly constructed buildings – large villas with swimming pools – that the island’s infrastructure is not enough to cover them. Most building permits are legally flawed, but who will check them? The only Milos town planning employee who should serve Milos, Kimolos, Sifnos and Serifos? There has been no control on the island for 4 years. All this will lead to the loss of Serifos, which we love, residents and visitors alike.”
Iacross the image and into the Ionian. “In our urban planning, 4,500 applications for new housing and 3,500 applications for legalization of arbitrary housing are pending,” said Lefkada Mayor Xenofontas Verginis. “The party continues. There are not enough roads, water, electricity, but we continue to build.”
“I visited several islands recently,” said the vice-president of ELLET, Lydia Karras. “I’ve heard a lot of stories. Elderly people who cannot live in their village because all the houses have become tourist accommodation. Greeks from abroad who returned to their island but now want to leave it because they have no neighbors. Young people who say that their island is no longer visible. We must realize that what is constructed cannot be “deconstructed”. For some islands it may be too late, we must act immediately.”
The government was represented at the event by two secretaries general: of Island Policy, Manolis Koutoulakis and tourism policy, Myron Flouris. “The state has receptive ears. But local communities must also know what they want,” said Mr. Fluris. “We must open the debate on caves, swimming pools and wild constructions on the islands”, added Mr. Koutoulakis. “But the responsibility lies not only with the state, but also with local authorities. They are usually the ones who put pressure on the rules to be circumvented.”