Greece locals forced to 'hide in their houses' because of UK tourists
Greece locals have been forced to "hide in their houses" amid tourist "chaos" as Brits and UK tourists descend on European Union holiday hotspots. Locals in Santorini have moaned about tourists "overwhelming" the tiny island.
“It’s a nightmare – people often slip and fall,” taxi driver Manolis told I News. “We have all this tourism money, but look at the state of this road. It’s one of Greece’s busiest ferry ports, but the road is only just good enough for donkeys,” he said.
Director of local transportation company V.I.P Transfers & Tours George Alexandrou said: “Santorini faces serious infrastructure issues due to the fact that government funding is tied to the size of the local population – increased investment is crucial."
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“Not only do we have to put up with them, now we have to hide in our houses to make way for them,” one resident of Oia, the caldera-edge village where visitors flock to watch sunset, said. Nikos Zorzos, the island's mayor, admitted local infrastructure and communal services were creaking under the strain.
“We face all the problems of a big city, even though we are not designed to be a big city or to deal with these problems,” he told iNews. Mitsotakis has recently introduced a €20 (£16) levy on cruise ship passengers.
According to the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the new taxes will bring in another €50 million (£42m), on top of the €42.7 billion (£35.7bn) the country earned this year from the industry. Manolis warned: “There are so many tourists but these roads haven’t been properly fixed for years.
"If the government is collecting even more money from Santorini, perhaps they will finally invest in our infrastructure?” As well as Santorini, UK tourists have faced a growing backlash in the Canary Islands and Spain's Balearics too.