Tourism income disparities

Hellenic Statistical Authority data on turnover in accommodation and catering show widening economic inequality between tourist destinations and the rest of the country.

Amidst the debate that has opened about how much and what sort of tourism we need, issues of economic inequality will inevitably have their part.

Turnover from accommodation and catering on the island of Mykonos (area: 86 square kilometers, local population: 10,704), a prime tourist destination, was €504 million in 2023, 2.5% of Greece’s total. In the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (area: 14,157 sq.km, population: 562,201), which includes the well-visited island of Thasos, turnover from the same activities was €470 million.

There are greater disparities to be found: The island of Santorini (area: 76 sq.km, population: 15,231) had a turnover of €743.8 million in 2023, 3.7% of the country’s total, while in the region of Western Macedonia (area: 9,451 sq.km, population: 250,453), turnover was about €140 million.

Among regions, the Ionian islands (area: 2,307 sq.km, population: 204,532), accommodation and catering turnover was €1.4 billion, half of it generated on the island of Corfu, while in Central Greece (area: 15,549 sq.km, population: 508,254) it reached €383 million.

Nearly a fifth of turnover (18.3%) is generated in the Southern Aegean region, with Rhodes alone accounting for 6.5% of the country’s total.

But it is the capital region, Attica, which has the lion’s share of turnover (32.5%).

The government has been made aware of the new inequalities: “What, in the old days, was the difference in development between cities and villages has been replaced by differences between tourist and non-tourist areas,” an official said.

Declared incomes in tourist areas are rising fast – faster than elsewhere. In the Cyclades islands, incomes rose 26% between 2019 and 2022. And, officials are aware that undeclared incomes are very important in the tourism sector.