In Greece, Choosing Day Trips the weeklong beach vacation in the iconic Santorini and Mykonos is the stuff of dreams for many locals. Beach holidays in Greece used to be affordable to many families, but with the rising costs and stagnating wages, vacationing in Greece’s picturesque islands is now a luxury. Instead, many Greeks are now riding the wave of cost-effective day trips to explore local beaches.
Avlaki Beach, which is an hour north of Athens, was bustling with summer day trippers. One of the patrons of the beach, Athens’s resident Diamantoula Vassiliou, was enjoying a four-hour beach tour. She vividly described to me the bus ticket, plastic cooler, and homemade lunch that she packed for her excursion. For her, vacationing over an extended period was impossible due to the rising costs of traveling.
Rising Tourism Costs in Greece
Greece’s tourism industry is booming, with the number of foreigners expected to quadruple the local population. However, the increasingly sidelined locals and the skyrocketing costs of luxury accommodation have deeply affected Greece’s population. Moreover, high-end luxury resorts offer exclusive services and accommodations at an ever-increasing price, which in turn drives the price of vacationing in Greece’s prominent tourist attractions.
According to the European Union, by 2024, nearly half of the Greeks could not afford a week’s vacation. This places Greece only second to Romania in terms of financial accessibility in the EU. Comparatively, this behavior signifies a small recovery since the 2019 crisis years when Greece struggled with its financial problems. Greece is flooded with foreign tourists, but in stark contrast to their spending, a majority of Greek locals are unable to afford even the most basic trips.
- Affordable Options: Day Trips to Avlaki Beach
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In the hopes of escaping the sweltering heat of the summer months, a majority of locals are now choosing to visit more affordable beaches, with Avlaki Beach only 42 kilometers from Athens. For residents like Vassiliou, the price associated with visiting well-known islands like Santorini or Paros is simply out of reach. As stated by Giorgos Lehouritis, the chairman of the Board of the Greek Consumer Protection Institute, this is a staggering amount for a family with an average monthly income of a little above 1000 euros.
While foreign travelers flock to the luxurious resorts on the Greek islands, locals like Vassiliou are shifting to more budget-friendly holidays, self-catering, and taking buses instead of ferries and flights. These cost-cutting measures echo the summer retreats of the 1980s, where families depended on low-cost travel and local beaches.
The Burden of Sky-High Expenses on Greek Families
The combination of costly holiday rentals, utilities, and groceries is effectively further straining locals’ already tight budgets, leaving little room for leisure travel. Many families now opt to spend weekends at the beach instead of indulging at pricey resorts or booking expensive flights. For local tour operator Vassili Solanakis, summer earnings are crucial for the off-season, but peak season comes with its own set of challenges; working remains highly erratic, and vacations are a far-off fantasy. Solanakis is of the view that tourism has changed drastically for locals; summers are for work, and the beach is an infrequent luxury at the rare moments of free time.
Holiday Poverty: An Increasing Challenge Throughout Europe
The phenomenon of holiday poverty—coined by some labor unions in Greece—does not pertain solely to Greece. The increase in the cost of living has resulted in the reduction of vacations for many families throughout Europe. A specific example is the discussion on social media dealing with the excessive prices of basic beach services, such as sun beds and umbrellas, which cost as much as 80 euros a day in Italy.
Similarly, in Greece, the shift in demand from budget accommodation to luxury hotels has rendered previously affordable holiday spots out of reach for local families. The Greek tourism industry’s transformation goes beyond the current economic challenges; it is also about a change in tourism models, which is causing local communities to be economically excluded from the destinations that are pivotal to their cultural heritage.
A New Era of Tourism in Greece
While Greece confronts the recent surge of tourism disparity, it seems beholden to the country’s traditional beach culture, which is under the reshaping influences of excessive luxury tourism and inflation. Many Greeks used to revel in the benefits of the affordable beach holidays; now, they are relegated to more budget-friendly options, like day trips to the beaches near major cities.
Global tourism might be faltering, but Greek tourism is still an essential pillar of the economy. Local authorities, along with the government and various tourism businesses, are still addressing foreign travelers, keeping in mind the burgeoning disparity for the local population. According to the Greek Consumer Protection Institute, the primary challenge for the country’s tourism development lies within the delicate balance between international tourism and local tourism accessibility.
Conclusion
The high price of travelling is leaving so many local Greeks behind, as day trips to the nearest beaches become the new normal for local families. While Greece is still flourishing as a luxury tourism hotspot, many local Greeks are struggling to maintain their connection to the beaches that have so closely defined summer in their country. The emergence of holiday poverty in Greece mirrors a widespread trend in Europe where soaring travel costs are threatening to put traditional holidays far out of reach for hundreds of families. With the growth of tourism in Greece, the current gap in travel accessibility for local citizens is in desperate need of attention so that everyone can cherish the breathtaking beaches of Greece, irrespective of their economic condition.
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