The Greek capital of Athens has been suffering from the consequences of overtourism in the post-pandemic era as the city welcomes an ever-increasing number of tourists throughout the year, industry experts report.
This creates not only an unpleasant and unsustainable environment for permanent residents but also spoils the touristic experience.
In light of the recent extreme reactions of permanent residents against tourists at popular European destinations such as Mallorca, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands, officials in Greece are considering the implementation of new measures to safeguard locals’ quality of life at tourist hotspots and make tourism more sustainable.
Studies by the Greek Ombudsman, the Athens Hoteliers Association, and the European Union, have at times pointed out the various dimensions of the same multi-faceted problem. Although extensive reports by different institutions trace overtourism at certain locations in Greece even as far back as 2015, its consequences became most apparent post-pandemic. These are expected to peak in 2024, as tourist flows continue to increase.
In an interview with Greek Reporter, Katerina Kikilia, Head of the Deptartment of Tourism Management at the University of Western Attica, Director, Msc Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Tourism, warns that Greece must shift its universal tourism strategy in order to prevent the potential emergence of an anti-tourism movement like that of Spain.
Numerous consequences of overtourism in Athens
Seven million visitors arrived in 2023 to the Greek capital alone, a number forecast to further increase by twenty percent this year, says Katerina Kikilia. The city seems to have exhausted its inbound tourism capacity, she adds.
As in Barcelona, Spain, the ever-increasing number of tourists flocking Greece’s most sought-after places, predominantly Athens, has affected housing the most, causing long-term rentals to become more difficult for locals to secure. Nonetheless, this is not the only complication. Congestion around the main attractions, such as the Acropolis, air and noise pollution, and shortfalls on the security and cleanliness of urban environments all need to be addressed.
“Those are aspects that make life in Athens unbearable. Such consequences of over tourism are critical and we need to take them into account, put some rules in place and take measures, in consultation with the local society and its needs, to avoid the worst,” Kikilia believes.
Overtourism has also become an issue in provincial areas as well as on numerous Greek islands. Hence, Kikilia argues that a “proper” tourism policy for Greece should focus on attracting high-quality, sustainable tourism.
“Our interest is no longer focused on increasing tourist flows, which was the goal of the last decade, but on increasing revenues and quality tourism. This is now our goal. We need to protect and shift the level of our tourism,” she emphasizes.
Housing a major problem for Athens residents
Specifically in Athens, the most dire consequence of overtourism is the escalating housing problem.
“There are many areas and neighborhoods of Athens that have been dominated by short-term rental residences and places to host tourists, domestic or inbound. As a result, residences for the actual citizens, the working class, students and families, are disappearing from the market. Either this or there is a huge increase in rental costs for the latter,” Kikilia describes. “And while, at the same time, hotel infrastructure also keeps growing, it remains insufficient to accommodate the immense flows of tourists visiting the city.”
The new mayor of Athens, Charis Doukas of PASOK, who succeeded Kostas Bakoyiannis of the ruling party New Democracy this year, famously made the case recently that a larger percentage of the tourism and sustainability tax charged at tourist accommodation establishments should be handed back to the municipality instead of the central government. Doukas suggested this would help with maintenance costs and infrastructure.
Kikilia agrees that all relevant taxes should be allocated accordingly, and mentions the Venice tourism tax as an example for limiting tourist flows while increasing the municipal revenue. However, she is not convinced that those tax revenues alone would solve the problems that overtourism causes in Athens.
“Since there is a limited number of tourist accommodation establishments, the amount of tax to be collected is also limited. I think that what must happen is the limitation of short-term rentals, like it is done in other European cities affected by over tourism,” she explains.
“Surely, we shouldn’t go to the other extreme, like Barcelona, where the mayor has decided to completely prohibit the short-term rental of residences inside the city by 2029,” Kikilia added. “We wouldn’t have the infrastructure to host all of our Athens tourists if short-term rentals didn’t exist. But we need limits.”
Limiting short-time rental accommodation
According to Katerina Kikilia, limiting the available number of short-term rental residences in Athens won’t be an excluding factor to that specific category of tourists who tend to prefer this type of accommodation for their stay.
“All over Greece, Athens included, one can find many small and medium size hotel businesses. In fact, this category makes up for the largest percentage. So the cost of stay is not over the roof, it is affordable. I don’t see this creating problems or reducing tourism revenue. At worst, it might reduce the lowest spending type of tourism, which is something we need,” she opines.
As Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis mentioned in May, consultations for limiting the short-time rental of residences are already underway.
Professor Kikilia expects the decisions to be announced after the end of the peak season.
“The Greek state should take necessary measures always in collaboration with local authorities, after listening to the needs of the local communities. Each destination, island or area, has its own needs and limits, which need to be set,” she points out.
Aside from the housing problem, the other pathogenies created by over tourism can be handled by spreading the tourist flows throughout the year.
“Infrastructure must be built wherever possible, and tourist flows limited wherever the necessary development of infrastructure is impossible,” Kikilia proposes.
The Professor concludes that the creation and implementation of a comprehensive plan and strategy are imperative for Greek tourism. These must consider all the consequences of over tourism and aim to reduce weaknesses and increase the benefits of tourism in Greece.
In her own words, coordinated efforts are required immediately, and are already overdue: “Preventive actions should have been taken yesterday.”