Santorini: Greece’s Bid to Save the 2025 Tourist Season

Tourism businesses in Santorini are in a race against time to recover lost ground, as the intense seismic activity in the region appears to be subsiding and the island is gradually return to cautious “normalcy“.

In the wake of the seismic swarms, the Greek government has a lazer focus on two main challenges: ensuring the cruise season opens as scheduled by late March, and preventing April and May from being a lost season for hoteliers.

Government Decisions on Santorini’s Cruise Industry

The coming weeks will be crucial as the Greek government is expected to finalize decisions regarding the cruise tax, the terms and conditions for cruise ship arrivals, and the protective measures that will apply to the island.

Proposals from Tourism Stakeholders

Key industry figures propose that the cruise season begin as scheduled on March 22, according to cruise company announcements. However and for safety reasons, ships should not dock at the main Fira port, where the cable car leading up to Fira is located. Greek authorities have decided that the cable car will remain non-operational for at least the next three months as the government continues to observe seismic activity—with some reports indicating it may stay closed until the end of the year.

Instead, the stakeholders propose that cruise ships dock at Athinios Port and suggest constructing a temporary pier at Monolithos to allow alternative access. Passengers would be transported to shore via tenders, but dredging work would be required to ensure safe navigation. In either case, it would mean a significant change to how cruises have become accustomed to approaching the main city of the island.

According to Georgios Nomikos, President of the Thira Municipal Port Fund, no cruise companies have officially announced cancellations. Industry sources confirm that, apart from two cancellations in February, all other cruise ships are still scheduled to resume operations from March 22.

Nomikos also highlighted that the berth allocation system remains fully operational, maintaining the daily visitor cap at 8,000, with only rare exceptions reaching 9,000 passengers. He stressed that restarting the cruise season is vital for Santorini’s tourism recovery and will signal to the global industry that the island is returning to full normalcy.

“No Aegean cruise itinerary is complete without Santorini,” he emphasized, adding that the local economy heavily depends on the hundreds of thousands of cruise visitors. According to local business owners, more than 2,000 shops rely on cruise tourism.

Final decisions from cruise companies are expected by late March or early April, at which point the situation will become clearer.

Hotel Bookings Down 20%

Regarding hotel bookings, Antonis Pagonis, President of the Santorini Hoteliers’ Association, reported from the ITB Berlin trade fair that bookings remain sluggish, with a more than 20% decline compared to last year during the same period. The most significant drop is seen in April and May, which poses the greatest concern.

Efforts are underway at ITB Berlin, led by the Hoteliers’ Association and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), to promote the destination and reverse the downturn.

Pagonis remains cautiously optimistic, noting that natural conditions have stabilized and normalcy is returning. He believes that if no new disruptions occur, the tourism gap will be filled starting in April.

Uncertainty Over the Cruise Tax

It remains unclear what will happen with the cruise tax, which was temporarily suspended due to seismic activity on the island. Although the suspension remains in effect, new government discussions suggest it may be reinstated, as infrastructure projects need funding, and authorities believe the cruise sector should contribute.

Source: Tovima.com