Popular Destinations to Limit Tourist Numbers
Santorini is the latest popular tourist destination to begin limiting the daily infusion of cruise passengers to its shores each day. According to a Greek news source:
“Authorities on the island of Santorini are introducing a system to manage the flow of cruise traffic to the popular destination, which will allow a maximum number of 8,000 passengers per day, following a study on its capacity.
Hellenic Port Association data showed that in 2015 Santorini received 636 cruise vessels, topping all Greek destinations and leaving Piraeus port in second place. The number of cruise passengers who arrived on the island came to 790,000 from ships mooring at Athinios and Fyra ports.
In the peak May-to-October season , some 90 percent of the year’s arrivals were recorded on Santorini. On a daily basis the island saw an average of 3.6 cruise ship arrivals with an average 4,000 passengers disembarking. However, there were days when Santorini received over 10,000 passengers….”
To help you put this in perspective, according to the 2011 census, the whole island of Santorini has a population of 15,500 people. So, just imagine the onslaught that must be occurring in these tiny towns on the days that 10,000 come ashore. :O
As I alluded above, Santorini is not the only popular tourist destination to take such measures. Italy’s Cinque Terra received 2.5 million visitors in 2015, and through the use of an online ticketing system, they plan to reduce that number by a million people to a maximum of 1.5 million visitors each year.
Overcrowding has become a real problem. I’ll never forget our complete shock when we got to the Palace of Versailles last year and witnessed thousands of people standing in unbelievably long lines.
Thankfully, we were prepared with a prearranged private tour and walked right in the front door. However, we felt really bad for the mob of uninformed tourists standing in the line. I suspect a great many of them gave up and never got to see the Palace of Versailles.
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
A decade ago, when Carol and I made our first trip together to Rome, we found ourselves standing in a massive line that stretched for MANY blocks around the Vatican Museum. We had absolutely no idea that we would encounter such a thing. We didn’t know what we didn’t know! Trust me, when you’re spending thousands of dollars to visit a dream destination, the last thing you want are these types of surprises.
If you don’t mind a little shameless plug, this is one of the many reasons that folks hire us to collaborate with them on their important dream vacations. We bring our in-country travel partners to the table to help us avoid such problems.
If you’re contemplating a dream vacation, anywhere in the world, give us a call at (480) 550-1235, or use our convenient online information request (click here), and let us share with you the value we bring to the table. We promise, you’re going to like it! 🙂
Link: Greek News Source
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