If you’re heading to the Greek islands this summer, you may want to heed the advice of a travel blogger who has issued advice over a new charge hitting visitors to the region.
The change, which came into effect on Monday (July 21) requires cruise tourists to pay a “cruise fee” when disembarking their ship. “Cruising the Greek islands became a little more expensive for everyone,” advised Dane of TikTok’s CroatianTravellers account.
“Passengers disembarking on Greek islands will pay an extra charge.” But how much is the fee? “The so-called ‘cruise fee’ will be €20 for disembarkation at ports on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini,” Dane explained. “For others ports it will be €5.”
The fee, which has been dubbed the “sustainable tourism fee” by the Greek government, has been implemented in a bid to curb “overtourism” in certain hotspots. Sccording to the Hellenic Ports Association, a huge 768 cruise ships and approximately 1.29million tourists visited Mykonos last year alone.
Dane added: “During shoulder season in October and from April 1 to May 31, the fee for Mykonos and Santorini the fee drops to €12 for Mykonos and Santorini and €3 for all other ports. And, during the winter months from November 1 to March 31, the fee is just €4 for Mykonos and Santorini and €1 for other ports. The charge will be applied per passenger and per port where they disembark.”
According to Keep Talking Greece, state broadcaster ERT reported cruise line companies incorporate these fees into their fares and subsequently handle the payments to the Greek government.
ERT believes the change could boost the local economy by €50million, a third of which will benefit the municipalities of the islands themeselves.
Some holidaymakers appear to be supportive of the additional cost, too, including one who penned on TikTok in response: “As long as it’s being spent on tourist infrastructure and preservation of local history and nature then I’m all for it.”
A second added: “Greece is a poor country, I think this is fair. I wouldn’t agree if it were a wealthier country like Canada. The economic boom from the cruise ships is enough for us.”
A third person added: “I’d pay for Santorini, it is well worth it. I spent a month on Santorini and if I had the opportunity to go again I’d be there in a heartbeat.”
Whilst a fourth explained: “Honestly that’s okay to charge it say they are trying to drive people to other ports. People rock up use the facilities and leave. As long as the tourist tax goes into infrastructure it will be there for years for others to enjoy as well as the locals.”
However, another appeared to be again the idea, hitting out: “It’s just not worth cruising to these places… by the time you dock, queue for a hour to get on your boat, everything is a rush and spend hours in queues before panicking to get back and queue to get back on the boats to take you to the cruise ship.
“A complete day of stress. I normally just stay onboard and enjoy the weather and a empty ship.”