The blight of the Cyclades
The discussion has been ongoing for some time now. It started right after the first Covid lockdown was lifted, in reaction to the leap in the price of ferry and airline tickets, as well as in the cost of accommodation, which together suddenly pushed a significant section of the Greek population onto the sidelines – meaning they could no longer afford a decent holiday on a Greek island.
In the years that followed, local communities have been growing increasingly frustrated and vocal as they watch their islands being transformed: the massive rise in tourist numbers (stemming from so-called revenge tourism) quickly brought popular destinations like Mykonos and Santorini to their knees and saw them appearing in the international literature and media as an example of the overtourism phenomenon. More and more islands in the Cyclades cluster followed suit, with the rest of the Aegean archipelago and the Ionian coming close on their heels.
In the meantime, another pivotal development was taking place, which saw its start in the waning days of the economic crisis, around 2017 and 2018, and this was the invasion of major international (mainly) and Greek real estate players in the domestic property market. Athens was first to be hit, but the islands followed very soon after. It was a development that exacerbated an already difficult situation, as short-term rentals gobbled up residence after residence. On the islands, where square meterage is limited, this had all sorts of serious consequences, the foremost of which is the growing difficulty of regular renters to find a place to stay.
The third pivotal development also began in the late 2010s: over-construction. New (illegal, but who’s to stop them?) roads were carved through fields, almost overnight turning arable plots into prospects for construction. The bigger parcels, which under the laws at the time could not be split up and built, ended up in the hands of the bigger “players,” who lined up to have their schemes approved and fast-tracked as “strategic” tourism investments.
Greece’s islands, and the Cyclades in particular, are at a tipping point. Locals and those who chose them as their permanent home or holiday destination now see what’s at stake: the irretrievable loss of the islands’ distinctive landscapes and identities. Everything is up for grabs.
Yet the government has expressed nothing but denial in the face of this blight, which is spreading even to the “alternative” islands and those once regarded as too far away to be popular. It refuses to stop rampant construction outside zoned areas; it refuses to take drastic measures to curb the spread of Airbnb and new hotels; it refuses to increase the distance from the shoreline where construction is allowed; it refuses to put limits on cruise ships and huge tourist resorts. It’s allowing a free-for-all. And in so doing, it risks going down in history as the government that surrendered the Cyclades.
