ATHENS – In case you suppose Santorini is the final word Greek expertise and excellent island spot – it simply may be – then you definitely haven’t seen Halki or Tilos or explored fishing villages alongside the Peloponnese the place the vacationers don’t go.
However Greece thinks it’s best to.
In an effort to chop down on overtourism that has already primarily ruined Santorini, the visitor-gouging island of Mykonos and overwhelmed the island of Corfu, the Tourism Ministry is urging vacationers to strive different islands simply as charming however not overrun and see lesser-known mainland spots too.
In a characteristic, Euronews Journey gave suggestions on what to see for many who have been beneath the affect of influencers utilizing social media websites like Instagram to drive folks to the identical locations and be a part of a horde.
There’s heaps to be stated about standing on the cliffside of Santorini and watching the solar set, in case you can see it over the folks standing in entrance of you, however the solar units on all of the Greek islands and mainland and it’s simply as stunning there.
Whereas influencers – who generate profits directing folks to locations wanting them – are pushing vacationers to Greece to the identical few favored locations, the fortunate few are experiencing the actual Greek expertise the place the others aren’t.
Greece has been criticized for overtourism in a bid to carry folks again in the course of the waning COVID-19 pandemic and so they’re returning in what appears to be report numbers and the ministry needs them to name all yr, not simply in the summertime.
There are such a lot of of them in the identical locations that the infrastructure can’t deal with the strain and Greeks, particularly on the islands who needed them after the vacancy of Coronavirus lockdowns now fear there’s simply too many.
“We’re not solely speaking about preserving pure sources or defending the surroundings. For us, sustainability can be one thing else,” Dimitris Fragakis, Secretary-Normal of the Greek Nationwide Tourism Organisation (GNTO) informed the information website about the issue.
“It’s about how native communities become involved with tourism, as a result of we would like folks to be near tourism, not in opposition to tourism. There are some dangerous circumstances right here in Europe of nations dealing with overtourism, the place the locals are kicked out from their homes or their neighborhoods. We don’t need that,” he stated.
The technique is to influence folks go go elsewhere and develop the locations that shall be a lure for them, even in the course of the autumn and winter – sure, Greece has snow and even locations to ski.
“Greece is not only solar and seashore, and it’s not solely the islands. The seashores are additionally stunning in northern Greece, and western Greece. No one is aware of these sorts of locations. So we need to promote them. We need to present the folks that you could go to loads of locations with a purpose to have a top quality trip,” added Fragakis.
“There’s loads of magnificence to be present in Greece, irrespective of the place you might be within the nation,” the information journey website stated, pointing to at least one instance, the small village of Gialova, within the southwest of the Peloponnese peninsula.
It was known as “an ideal spot to stay the Greek dream of solar, seashore, nature and lovely meals whereas holding away from the crowds. The village is a strolling distance from the Gialova lagoon and nature reserve and it’s near the traditional archaeological website of Pylos, a Mycenaean-era palace. Shut by, there’s additionally the seashore of Voïdokoilia, some of the stunning within the nation.”
Then there’s the island of Ikaria within the Aegean, one of many world’s 5 Blue Zone locations the place folks stay previous 100, the others being Okinawa in Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California.
On Ikaria, apart from having fun with pure, unprocessed meals and never worrying concerning the time as a result of the native’s don’t – one of many causes they stay so lengthy – you’ll be able to have sandy seashores with out somebody at your elbow.
Leros island within the Dodecanese, the location stated, is “a paradise for these trying to chill by the seashore or get sweaty climbing their rocky mountains,” noting that others within the chain with unspoiled seashores and unforgettable sea meals.
Halki, off Rhodes, has just a few autos and so they’re electrical and there are lodging the place you’ll be able to open your door, take three steps off a sidewalk and plunge right into a deep sea.
Halki is the primary of a number of small islands within the Aegean Sea that the Greek authorities intends to make utterly impartial from the nationwide grid and run totally on renewable power sources beneath the GR-eco nationwide mission.
Tilos, with its 500 inhabitants, grew to become the primary 100 per cent “inexperienced island”’ of Greece and Mediterranean in 2019, when the island, powered by renewable power alone, declared itself utterly self-sufficient, the report stated.
However you’ll be able to see for your self.