🇬🇷 Greek Travel and Tourism has Challenges.

Greece is the BEST place in Europe to Holiday and Vacation, but as with all tourist destinations, it is now being recognised that Tourism has an impact.

Whilst the Tourism is enormously important for the Greek economy, and really part of the Greek culture and psyche, it is now recognised that there are negative consequences on the Environment, local economies and society in general.

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This video explores what these impacts are, what is being done to address them, and what else should be done to improve the situation for the future and future generations.

What can we all do, including the tourists visiting Greece to improve the situation for all involved, residents and visitors alike.

00:00 Introduction.
00:31 VISIT GREECE!
01:13 I have a responsibility.
01:34 Over Investment in Athens and The Greek Islands.
03:36 Achieve Balance, Discover Greece.
04:11 Greeks love Tourists and Tourism.
05:19 Greece is Responsible to Future Generations.
05:55 So What can we do about it?
06:21 Greece has amazing Natural Resources.
07:32 Real Estate Prices and AirBNB.
08:58 I am not a fan of Investing in Property for Returns, except...
10:08 New Tourist Charges.
12:28 The Greeks are Responsible too!
13:11 FDI Is Good for Greece.
14:04 Beach Piracy!
15:38 Greece is STILL Amazing to visit.
17:03 Wrap Up

[rath]

The country de-industrialised in the 70's and the 80's, and focused almost exclusively on tourism. Many manufacturing (and other) industries fled to countries like Bulgaria, which had a much friendlier tax regime. Now, the tourism industry is testing the limits of the infrastructure. I'm more than happy to hear from people from all corners of the world, who have visited and had a wonderful time. They're always welcome. I just wish we had something other than our beautiful beaches and the sun to offer.

[Ester_Stamatakis]

Andrew you are my pefered youtuber. Your videos are honest and direct to the are a good person and an excelent expat living in Greece. The country needs more people like you...Keep your good job!

[discover_peloponnese]

Another wonderful video, thank you for the balanced, honest analysis! Seems like many places, Greece included, are suffering from 'instagram tourism' where social media is driving more and more tourists to the same overcrowded spots while other amazing places are almost tourist free. The location in your video is a great example, there are such amazing experiences to be had by venturing just a little bit off the tourist trail!

[MarkN-wk]

Another informative and well constructed vlog I have been travelling to Greece since 1985 and totally agree with you being a tourist myself over the years I have visited lots of the wonderful islands and also mainland Greece there is far more to Greece than the islands go to the mainland and explore its beauty and history. The people are so welcoming and friendly I still have friends that I made in the 80`s most of them are more like family.so get out there and explore you might be pleasantly surprised how much mainland Greece has to offer.

[conpapas-ds]

Second generation Greek/ Australian. I have been watching your YouTube channel for a while now. I would just like to mention that you are absolutely correct in the way you portray the country to the rest of the world! Greece is by no way perfect. Keep up the great work!!

[Jaguar]

Great video, very thoughtful and well-reasoned. I'll 2nd Andrew's advice to explore Greece beyond Athens and Mikonos. We spent several weeks in the western Peloponnese in winter 2024. Fantastic. The weather was fine, the crowds were non-existent, and the people, as always, friendly and helpful. I'd like to think most travelers want to be responsible tourists, and the best way for us to do it is to spread the wealth around to some of the less-visited places, at less-visited times of year. Thanks, Andrew!

[ariellalemuria]

16 hours and already almost 2K views! 😊 This is such an important video—thank you for posting it and showing us every side of Greece. 🇬🇷 We’ve learned so much from it! This is definitely one of the most important videos you’ve made. So glad you shared it! 🙌✨

[lantran]

thank you for your honesty and I agree with everything you said :). I love Greece and plan to visit soon.

[bernadettehumby]

Good morning Andrew, spot on with your thoughts, we have been very lucky travelling around the world but in all honesty Andrew, Greece is one of the best, the world is full of wonderful people, but for us, the Greeks are among the most generous and welcoming , we always feel as though they go that little bit further with their generosity.

[DenaTompros]

Great advice as always, Andrew! I love the diversity of your videos and the truths and insights you share!

[Rachelgpuentes]

As always Andrew, you are very informative and insightful. I enjoy watching your videos from Florida.

[annobrien]

I completely agree with you, I have greek friends in a number of different locations, I've been to some of the touristic islands and I've been to lesser known islands and mainland Greece is astonishingly beautiful. I wish more people who visit Greece to go off the beaten track, they will experience authentic Greece and lovely locals and fabulous food at reasonable prices, and its much more relaxing. The Saronic Gulf is stunning and west peloponnese is just astounding.

[ryanjordan]

You are correct Andrew! Homes are for utility not for investment.

[mresuport]

As always Andrew, grounded in reality, congratulations, enjoyed the episode! As a tourist I see things similarly, like every other country, Greece has its challenges, but will get there. Peace !

[westwindsailer]

Be there in a week Andrew, thanks for your videos. I was in Portugal last fall . Lisbon and parts north for 2 weeks. It seems tourism is overloading that country where in many places infrastructure and services are lagging and not keeping up.
Barcelona a few years back was really feeling the pressure of “vacation rentals” and investment properties.

[stuartthorpe]

A really good discussion and portrayal of some the the more negative impacts of tourism in Greece. I like your sense of balance and fairness, (well I would. I'm English!) and how you constantly encourage people to visit this wonderful country, despite the downsides. Which you will encounter everywhere you choose to have a holiday. I have been living permanently on the island of Naxos for more than twenty-five years, and change is natural and inevitable. The 'good old days' are gone, so get used to it, but what is replacing those days, can to my mind, be summed up in one word. Greed. And all too often, as you point out, both by foreign and local investment that causes local communities considerable hardship or very little benefit. The government is obviously aware of, and trying to deal with some of the more critical problems as you are right to point out.
The beach 'privatisation' issue will hopefully be more strictly controlled in the coming season as the wonderful Naxos beaches now too have loungers and umbrellas right down to the waterline in a lot of popular areas. Pay for it or lump it! A Mykonos in the making. Another serious problem faced in particular by the Cycladic Islands is water shortage. Naxos is still very much primarily an agricultural economy, and the increasing levels of tourism and the consequent drain of precious water resources is just plain scary. Perhaps in a future video, you could mention this? As in 'please be mindful of this when you holiday on these islands to respect our limited and precious water supplies.'
Thanks Andrew for your engagement and way to report and consider the both positive and negative effects of tourism in Greece with this vlog.
All best wishes, and look forward to more from you.

[greeceundiscovered]

A huge reason why Athens in particular has a housing shortage is that the government has been subsidising “migrants” by paying for their rent. This has been happening for many years now.

[slkonnaris]

Great video Andrew, I think you explained these issues very well and very fairly. You also mentioned somethings I hadn’t thought of. I’m always happy to stay in a regular tourist apartment or hotel but I do get extra enjoyment from staying somewhere with a bit more personality. Even though most of the AirBnB’s I’ve stayed in are pretty inexpensive, they are often quite cute and quirky -especially ones I’ve used in the last few years (luckily rented out by locals). I love the creativity and artistic energy that goes into them and the thoughtful touches. Just got back from Lecce, southern Italy, a city known for its baroque architecture, and it was a real highlight to stay in a place with exposed natural stone, a gorgeous mezzanine and cute little courtyard. It’s run by a local guy who is very passionate about providing a good service to visitors & not expensive. That said, I totally agree that it’s out of control in many locations and the owners can often be living in other countries just letting the money roll in. My parents have fond memories of a holiday they had about 30 years ago in Halkidiki - literally their favourite holiday ever - they talk about it still with such affection!

[chriskiato]

We need more people like you moving to Greece that integrate and at least learn basic Greek. 🙂

[KhunAdam]

Can't agree more with you, Andrew. I would argue for more taxes that go to improving infrastructure, and subsidising local needs. The cruise ship taxes are needed. With Air BnB it is problem in all popular tourist destinations now, but my wife and I recently spent a few days in Koukaki near the Acropolis in an AirBnB. The local residents in the apartment block are posting notices to remind tourists to be quiet. The cleanliness of the area could be better and I hope our expenditure will contribute to an improvement in the environment there. I also hope that tourism brings better wages for the the hospitality workers. Last year we spent a week in Chios in an apartment managed by a local Greek company, and the apartment was beautifully restored. I just feel I would like to know that the owners of the property where stayed in had been taxed fairly and that the investment is benefitting Chios generally. It is a 'depopolating' island with lots of ruined buildings that could be renovated, but there were quite a few young Greeks in the cafes, all with money to spend.