Dear Member,
This is our weekly roundup from Greece.
Crete is famed for its hospitality. Yet recent reactions against migrants arriving on its shores reveal a growing tension between tradition and fear. Compassion seems to have given way to a narrowly viewed interest.
At the same time that many locals see the ‘threat’ coming from migrants, Crete faces an onslaught of luxury mega-resorts that erase natural landscapes, displace local life, and hollow out the island’s cultural identity.
On top of this, nearly half of Greeks can no longer afford even a one-week holiday, as the cost of living soars and public space—once shared and free—is increasingly priced out of reach.
What happened to Cretan hospitality?
Crete, Greece’s largest island, located at the southernmost part of the country, has always been renowned for its hospitality. Cretans would most often than not aid the person in need, the foreigner, the traveller, who found themselves on their island.
Not anymore. Tourism stakeholders in Crete have expressed strong opposition (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) to plans for establishing closed migrant reception centers on the island, warning of serious economic and reputational risks.
In a joint statement, they report receiving messages from international travel partners and visitors concerned about the situation. Cancellations and a slowdown in bookings have already been noted, with tourism stakeholders claiming the influx of migrants is threatening the stability of thousands of tourism-related businesses.
“It is unacceptable that such discussions are taking place during the peak tourist season,” they stated, calling the proposal “inconceivable” and warning it could undermine Crete’s tourism product and global reputation. They also criticised authorities for poor planning and a lack of timely action.
“We are clearly opposed to any initiative that would turn Crete into a destination for migrant reception or settlement,” the statement concluded.
While indeed ‘closed reception centers’ are but a euphemism for camps likening incarceration conditions, and therefore opposition to them on humanistic grounds would be understood, total opposition to “migrant reception or settlement” on the grounds of “harming Crete’s tourism” is really a vast deviation from any notion of humanism.
At the same time, Cretan mayors are advocating (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) for temporary migrant accommodation centers, not closed detention facilities, bearing in mind the disastrous fate of the Moria camp in Lesvos.
The reactions come at a time when, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard, 7,336 refugees arrived on Crete and the small, nearby island of Gavdos in the first half of 2025, as reported (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) by Deutsche Welle. Almost 2,000 more have arrived in July. The UNHCR provides slightly higher figures for the period up to 6 July.
It is added that it is “worth comparing these figures with those from the year 2015, when a hundred times more refugees — over one million — arrived on many smaller Greek islands such as Lesbos and Kos.”
A threat more real than barefoot people
While many in Crete express outrage over the arrival of impoverished migrants landing on the island’s shores, the true threat to the island lies elsewhere. The real invasion, critics argue, comes in the form of sprawling five-star resorts, often owned by external corporate interests with little connection to or concern for the local community.
These luxury developments are rapidly multiplying across some of Crete’s most cherished natural landscapes, not only bulldozing the environment but also eroding the island’s cultural identity and undermining its local, small-scale economy.
Two major blows hit Crete at the beginning of July, as Agrophilia reported (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre):
On June 26, the Environmental Committee approved plans for a 600-bed, five-star hotel in Triopetra, Rethymno—a place once defined by sea, stone, and silence.
The second project is planned for Skouros, near Keratokampos in Viannos: a luxury complex featuring a 5-star hotel, villas, spas, and even an “organic garden” designed to mimic the local charm. It’s marketed with buzzwords like “sustainability” and “wellness,” but some locals see a parody of authenticity.
Meanwhile, the €500 million Ikos Kissamos looms in the background.
Southern Crete, with Agrophilia added, has remained largely untouched by mass tourism until now. It is one of the last places where nature leads, locals outnumber tourists, and life moves to the rhythm of the land and sea. “That is what’s at stake.”
Mega-tourism ‘invasion’ comes at a time when most of Crete (Chania, Heraklion, and Lasithi prefectures, only Rethymnon is not included) is experiencing the highest levels of drought (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) (levels 4 and 5 on a five-point scale), according to Greece’s national weather service, Meteo.
Still, Cretans managed to unite and react harshly against migrants, not ‘investors.’
The soul of the island has already been bulldozed.
“Europe’s waiters”
One in two Greeks cannot even afford a week-long vacation, according to Eurostat data.
According to these data, as Keep Talking Greece reported (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), Greece is among the top three European countries, ranking second in the percentage of the population that is unable to take a vacation even for one week.
First is Romania and third is Bulgaria. In fact, the percentage in Greece (46%) is almost double that of the European Union (27%).
“In fact, the country is in a worse position than 2023, as it “climbed” from 4th position to 2nd one.”
Greeks have been outpriced from their own country, their own sun-and-sea, their very own summer.
A Kathimerini study has found (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) that ferry travel in Greece can be significantly more expensive per nautical mile than equivalent routes in northern and southern Europe, especially on short, high-speed connections between popular Aegean islands.
The research compared ferry fares for a round trip by three adults and a car across various European routes. “While ticket prices in wealthier countries like France, Spain and the Netherlands were generally affordable relative to distance, Greek island routes – particularly those served by high-speed ferries – were disproportionately costly,” the report said.
“A stark example emerged in the Cyclades: a round-trip between Ios and Naxos can cost up to €478.60 for the group, or €10.6 per mile – far more than longer European routes such as Cherbourg in France to the Irish port of Rosslare (€1.4/mile) or Barcelona to Ibiza (€0.5/mile) in Spain.”
Opposition MPs raised alarms (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) that ferry fares have risen 43% from 2019 to 2025, far outpacing cumulative inflation (~18%), and called for improved monitoring and fairness.
Ferry fares are just one piece of the puzzle, however. Greeks are increasingly excluded from their own summer, as a sharp decline in living standards persists, despite optimistic official forecasts of GDP growth (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)at 2.3% in 2025 and 2.0% in 2026, up from 2.2% in 2024.
Read
Beware the Greek Success Story (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Open letter to the Prime Minister of Greece (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Until the dawn of time, or OPEKEPE’s establishment (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Trump tariffs send chill through Greek peach harvest (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Greece braces for extreme heatwave with up to 44° C (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Experts Confirm Temperatures Rising in Fire-hit Areas in Attica (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Fourth bear found shot dead in Kastoria in last three months (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
Listen
Greece’s housing crisis and the decline of home ownership (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
That’s all for this week; please forward this email to anyone you think might find it interesting and ask them to join our international community!
The AL team
Date
19/07/2025
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