A popular Greek seaside town is begging tourists to “please come bag” after banning a specific type of holiday. Malia in Crete was infamous for hosting rowdy visitors on 18-30 party holidays, until nearly all hotels in the area stopped the package deals. In 2017, some 95% of Malia’s hotels outlawed the so-called “t*ts and tequila” tourism.
This appears to have had a negative effect on visitor numbers, which were roughly 30% down last year. Business owners are now scrambling to attract more tourists amid what should be a busy summer season across the island. Marie Pajolou, manager of the Happy Train tour company, said Crete was “much better” 20 years ago when she started working there, and blamed rising costs for putting off holidaymakers.
She told The Sun: “The big issue we are facing is not 18-30s holidaymakers, but the fact that tourism is 30% down on last summer as everything is more expensive now.
“People used to come here because it was cheap and you could have a fun holiday without worrying about money, but the price of everything keeps going up.
“A 30% fall is a big problem for us and the ones that are visiting don’t have the same budget and they are complaining about the prices. We need more young people coming here, not less.”
Videos posted on social media this summer revealed just how quiet the Malia strip has been, with young holidaymakers opting to drink cheap alcohol in their accommodation before heading out much later.
A group of four students told the outlet that they booked a £600 package holiday to the party town after the ban was lifted.
One of them said: “This is our second holiday here and we love it. The nightlife is great and it seems busier than last summer.
“We’ve been out until 6am most nights and, while we keep an eye on our drinks to make sure we don’t get spiked, we haven’t had any problems.
“The only annoyance is that men will punch and tap your back to get your attention at the clubs and you have to tell them to stop.”
