Greece is in the middle of an anti-cruise rebellion, with locals complaining about over-tourism and trashed streets

07.08.2024 - 11:53 / insider.com / Cruises

An anti-cruise rebellion is afoot in popular tourism destinations in Greece.

Boats full of tourists who arrive on the island, crowd the streets, and leave trash have led to the "worst season" ever, locals say.

It's a story mirrored across Europe this summer, with anti-tourist protests breaking out in famous hot spots.

In Barcelona, locals have sprayed holiday-makers with water pistols and shouted at them to go home, blaming them for the city becoming unlivable due to high rent prices and apartments being turned into Airbnbs.

In Athens and Greek islands, such as Santorini, there's a similar sentiment growing.

Vivian Antypa, an archaeologist and tour operator in Athens, told Business Insider that she loves working in tourism and meeting people from all over the world. But her job has become "challenging" recently.

"The government hasn't put any limitations to the number of people that can visit the monuments," she said, except for the 20,000 person cap to the Acropolis, which was implemented last year.

All the other archaeological sites in the city are "extremely crowded," Antypa said.

"This, of course, affects the quality of our work, the experience of the people," she said. "It can be dangerous due to the hot Greek weather."

The number of tourists visiting Greece increased by 120% between 2019 and 2023, Fortune reported, with 33 million tourists heading to the country last year.

Antypa said overtourism in Athens is a problem because the city can't accommodate the large numbers of people in the high season.

As a result, the center is full of traffic and crowds, which makes it hard for locals to live their daily lives.

There are also not enough establishments to accommodate all the people, which has boosted the short-term rental market.

Related stories

"That has caused a big disruption for the locals," Antypa said. "People cannot find apartments for long-term renting, and the ones that can be rented are usually extremely overpriced and in poor conditions."

According to the Greek news outlet Kathimerini, investors are turning entire apartment blocks in Athens's districts of Pangrati and Koukaki into short-term rental units.

Rental rates in Pangrati have increased by 14.3% compared to last year, the Greek newspaper To Vima reported. House prices are also soaring, according to Bloomberg.

Tourists and locals are equally disappointed in the ramifications of over-tourism, Antypa said, which "sets the standards of the Greek hospitality way back."

On TikTok, there's a heated debate between vacationers and locals at top tourist sites. Visitors complain about crowds and dirty streets and share their disappointment about their trip not meeting their expectations. In response, locals call them out for being