Greece’s department of tourism has begun promoting some of its lesser-known islands over some of its more popular holiday attractions in a bid to avoid over-tourism as international travel returns to pre-pandemic levels of demand.
While the new Greece: If you Come Even Once, You Will Want to Stay Forever campaign covers the usual popular spots, it makes a point of highlighting lesser-visited areas too.
“Alternative destinations. So many of them: 124 inhabited islands. Yes, of course it’s about Mykonos and Santorini and Corfu and Crete, but there are so many other destinations,” Greece’s tourism minister Vasilis Kikilias said in an interview with Breaking Travel News.
Tinos is one such destination on which Greece is shining a new spotlight. Mr Kikilias said the new policy is aimed at spreading tourism more evenly across Greece and avoiding the threat of over-tourism.
The Cyclades – one of Greece’s main island groups – is made up of 33 islands, alone. But many of these are overlooked – while a few of them; Mykonos and Santorini; never go out of fashion.
Greece attracted more than 18 million holidaymakers last year; the country showing signs of tourism recovery, but that total was still down 34% on pre-Covid visitor levels.
