Greece is to introduce a 20-euro tax for cruise passengers visiting the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. The news was announced by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday while speaking at the International Exhibition in Thessaloniki in the presence of Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck.
According to Mitsotakis, the introduction of the tax appears justified by concerns about the impact that overtourism is having on the two Greek islands, where the tax will actually be higher than elsewhere.
In fact, the premier explained that a significant portion of the revenue generated by the tax will return to local communities so that they can better organize themselves and so that local infrastructure can bear the brunt of the waves of summer tourism.
In 2023, Greek tourism revenues totaled about €20 billion, thanks to the arrival of nearly 31 million tourists.
Translation by Giles Foster
