The Santorini Hoteliers Association is concerned about the government’s latest measures affecting tourism.
OR Hotel Association of Santorini (EXS) expresses its strong concern about the measures recently announced by the government regarding Santorini and its tourism sector, which not only represents the critical economic sector, but is also a strong contributor to the country’s GDP.
Characteristically, the Hotel Association of Santorini states in its announcement that “These are measures that not only do not contribute to strengthening the local economy and the competitiveness of tourism, but which, if not changed immediately, could lead to one of the worst tourist seasons in recent years.
Their imposition harms entrepreneurship and puts Santorini at a disadvantage compared to other global tourist destinations, such as counterparts in Spain, Turkey and Italywhich are continuously strengthening their tourism infrastructures by offering a more favorable business environment.
With these data, tourism in Santorini is placed in a difficult competitive position on the world map, which undermines the island’s development prospects.
We call on the government to listen to the needs of local businesses and proceed with the necessary changes that will allow Santorini to remain one of the top tourist destinations in the world, ensuring the economic viability of the island and the survival of industry professionals.
We remind you that the measures announced by the government include a special fee for every cruise passenger disembarking from Greek ports, with the aim of financially supporting local communities and improving port infrastructure. The fees vary according to the season, and the annual profit is expected to reach 50 million euros. At the same time, its development is being planned home delivery and attracting smaller cruise ships with high-income passengers to improve the tourist experience and offload popular destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini.
In addition, investments in infrastructure and port projects will strengthen Greece’s competitiveness in the global cruise market, providing long-term benefits for local communities and the country’s economy, including a special levy for each cruise passenger disembarked at Greek ports, with the aim of economically supporting local communities and improving of the port infrastructure. Fees vary according to the season, and the annual profit is expected to reach 50 million euros. At the same time, the development of homeporting and the attraction of smaller cruise ships with high-income passengers is planned, in order to improve the tourist experience and offload popular destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini, as the minister emphasized.