The influence of the tourism industry is strong in southern European countries, such as Greece or Turkey, known worldwide for their attractions, beaches, landscapes, and food, rendering them popular destinations for tourists from all over the world. In Greece, tourism is described by politicians and media as the country’s ‘heavy industry’ -which is of course just an impressionistic opinion and is not based on facts.

Tourism has, in fact, a quite significant impact on the Greek economy. Indicatively, in 2019 (pre-pandemic) Greece recorded over 30 million arrivals which generated over €15 billion in travel earnings (Deloitte Central Mediterranean, 2023). The direct contribution of tourism to GDP was approximately €21 billion (over 12% of GDP), while the total contribution of tourism exceeded €61 billion, or approximately 33% of GDP (Deloitte Central Mediterranean, 2023). Moreover, more than 1 million people are employed in the tourism industry in Greece (Deloitte Central Mediterranean, 2023), meaning that approximately 20% of the workforce is employed in tourism (ELSTAT, 2023). Greece’s tourism sector recorded another year of growth in 2024, welcoming 40.7 million international travellers – a 12.8 percent increase over 2023. 

However, such extensive tourism activity, which peaks during summer season, has also a heavy impact on environment. While the environment contributes to tourism, tourism has both positive and negative effects on the environment. Firstly, to cater for such a large number of tourists, buildings construction in tourist areas is often uncontrolled, which may result in the concerting of natural areas, leading to the destruction of natural resources and the environment. For example, in 2022 alone, 1280 new building permits were granted in Cyclades, Greece (Lialios, 2023), while on the island of Santorini, Greece, is 18% covered by buildings, a proportion higher than that of Attica, where the capital of Greece, Athens, is located (Lialios, 2018). In the case of Greece especially, excessive and unregulated building, combined with the impacts of climate change and the country’s deficient emergency management mechanisms, has led to disasters (wildfires and floods) with significant losses of both human lives and the environment (SGI, 2022).

In line with these recent demands and trends of our era, with the consequences of climate change becoming increasingly evident and the need for alternative ways of tourism more apparent than ever, many countries are implementing relative policies to boost sustainable tourism.

Greece, for example, is now implementing several initiatives to support and promote sustainable tourism, both with the support of the public sector as well as with the support of the private sector and international organisations. For instance, the Aegean Sustainable Tourism Observatory has been established under the auspices of the World Tourism Organisation and in cooperation with the University of the Aegean, aiming to provide data and analysis to the public and private sector on tourism in the Aegean islands but also in Greece in general, in order to equip them with all the appropriate information needed for the shift towards sustainable tourism (Aegean Sustainable Tourism Observatory, n.d).

A second key initiative in Greece is PlasTICK, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourism Organisation in collaboration with Common Seas. PlasTICK is a digital platform that helps hotels and accommodation businesses to measure their plastic footprint, but also provides them with information on solutions and practices that will contribute to the reduction of plastic use.

Alongside the initiatives at national level, local initiatives have also been developed, especially on the Greek islands. Some of them are “Just go Zero” in Tilos, “Astybus” in Astypalaea, “Clean Blue Paros” etc. (Emily, 2022).

To promote the initiatives mentioned above, the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK has developed an online platform, www.sustainablegreece.co.uk, which highlights all sustainability actions in Greek tourist destinations and aims to encourage tourists to visit and support local communities that adopt green and sustainable practices (Emily, 2022).

 

Find more on: https://www.prepareproject.eu/EN/sonuclar/