For a few, but also for everyone
I decided to go for a swim last Sunday; it was the last day of my summer holidays and I’d just come back to scorching Athens. With so little traffic on the capital’s streets, I was soon swimming at one of my favorite coves in Saronida on the eastern coast.
I was sharing the tiny beach with two families who had obviously come early in the morning and set up camp for the day under the tamarisk trees. Indeed, come lunchtime, they produced various food containers and two foldable tables, turned down the volume on their portable speaker and had a great big picnic. It is something they do often in the summer, they told me, spending the entire day in Saronida or Sounio when they’re not at their native village in Thiva.
Greece must be one of just a handful of countries in Europe that still has these two faces, where people pay 150 euros for a sun lounger on Psarou Beach in Mykonos yet still expect to swim for free at such a coveted spot as the Athens Riviera. Estimates are that revenues from tourism this year will exceed by a whopping 2 billion euros those of the record year of 2019, while overall arrivals from the United States alone are expected to come to around 500,000.
The rise in tourism is obviously putting pressure on the already stretched infrastructure of the most popular islands, which are struggling with shortages in water, with poor sewerage systems, insufficient parking and a lack or complete absence of proper public transportation, among other problems.
But there are also dozens of islands – less popular ones – where you can have a holiday without the crush and at a reasonable cost, despite the higher ferryboat fares stemming from rising fuel prices.
The fact is that this is the first time Greece – once a top choice for backpackers and budget tourists – is attracting high-income tourism. Foreigners are building thousands of luxurious homes because they want a place to come on holiday or to spend the final, carefree years of their lives.
Greece is becoming fashionable, but it is also a new “discovery” among high-caliber tourists and digital nomads who are charmed by its unique combination of natural attractions and history, and the major inroads it has made digitally.
