Few residents, millions of tourists: Greek ports begin charging a fee to arriving cruise passengers.
All cruise ship passengers disembarking at Greek ports from July 2025 will be required to pay a fee of between 5 and 20 euros , a measure intended to address the consequences of mass tourism and strengthen local infrastructure.
The highest fee, €20, will apply to cruise ship passengers disembarking on the islands of Santorini and Mykonos, which are suffering from tourist overcrowding.
With a population of just 40,000 , these two islands in the Cyclades archipelago welcomed around seven million tourists in 2023.
For the rest of the Greek islands and ports on the mainland, the tourist tax during high season will be five euros per person.
The Greek conservative government estimates that the measure will generate between €50 and €100 million in revenue annually for the public coffers, according to the Greek website newmoney.gr.
Crowds walking through the streets of Fira, Santorini. Photo by Shutterstock
While the measure seeks to ease congestion in cruise-ship-saturated destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos, it also aims to fund infrastructure in tourist destinations, modernize ports and water supply networks , and generally promote sustainable tourism.
Several Greek islands with only a few thousand inhabitants receive millions of tourists during the summer, putting strain on their ports and their water and electricity supply systems.
Cruise ship passengers and buses waiting for them. Photo REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
Tens of thousands of cruise ship tourists disembark on Santorini almost daily during the summer, causing huge crowds and altering the appearance of its most famous towns.
The government had already announced the introduction of this tax last September, although the decision to implement it starting July 1 was only recently published.
The new rate will vary depending on the time of year , so in October, April and May it will be 12 euros for Mykonos and Santorini and three euros for the other ports, while during the low season, from November to the end of March, it will drop to four euros for these two islands and one euro for the other destinations.
Clarin
