Tourism: Handle with care

The number of tourism arrivals in Greece is growing apace and the sector is without doubt the main engine of the country’s economy right now. All of the signs point to the upward trend continuing, but this does not mean there is any room for complacency.

At many popular destinations, there are serious problems with infrastructure and major shortages. A get-rich-quick mentality is also prevalent and dangerous. When it comes to central planning, high arrival numbers should not be the only goal; we need high-quality services and bigger-spending tourists to survive in the long term.

The state, local authorities and representatives of the sector need to get together and start planning for the future if they want to avoid serious mistakes and fix the myriad problems that are becoming so apparent right now as the peak of the summer season approaches.