For a new model of tourism and economic development...

Summer is coming to an end and it is time to take stock of our tourism industry. According to official data from the Bank of Greece on incoming tourism, some initial conclusions are already apparent for Greece and Kythira.

1. Arrivals in the country will be higher than in any other year (we hope the same will be true for Kythira).
2. The length of stay of tourists in Greece is decreasing every year (5.9 nights in 2024 from 6.5 nights in 2023, a decrease of 9.6%).
3. Tourism revenues amounted to €21.592 billion in 2024 (an increase of 4.81% compared to 2023). However, average spending per trip fell by 7% (in 2024 it was €530.6 per tourist, down from €570.7 in 2023).

In short, more tourists are coming, staying for shorter periods, and each of them is spending less in our country. What many of us noticed in Kythira is that more tourists than ever before chose to stay in short-term rentals, cook for themselves, and choose very inexpensive meals when they went out...

When it comes to domestic tourism, things are pretty disheartening. According to Eurostat, almost half of Greeks (46%) couldn't afford to enjoy even one week of vacation away from home. This figure is almost double the European Union average, which according to Eurostat stood at 27%.

The comparison ranks Greece among the countries with the most citizens who cannot cover the cost. vacation, immediately after Romania, where the corresponding rate reached 58.6%. The estimates for 2025 are even worse...

Why am I writing all this? Simply to point out that the current model of tourism in our country (the same applies to Kythira) needs to be revised, as it is not working. This is even more so when we consider the investments we all pay for infrastructure developed to meet the increased needs of the tourist season (sewerage, water supply, communications, roads, airports, ports, etc.). Infrastructure is necessary, but it is often built (when it is built...) to meet the increased needs of the peak tourist season, i.e. for two months. Often, natural resources (e.g., water) are used without restraint, without study, without environmental awareness. We recently saw a report on how many hundreds of swimming pools the arid island of Paros has... Are these our basic needs? Will the public investment program be adapted to this?;

Tourism must complement the rest of the economy. More importantly, the sell-off of critical infrastructure that «allows» tourist foreign exchange to remain outside the country's borders must stop. It is unacceptable for airports to be owned by Germans, trains by Italians, ports by Chinese and Italians, roads by consortia that are constantly becoming de-Hellenized, telecommunications by Germans and English, etc. It is not acceptable for foreign tourists to pay for an all-inclusive resort in their own country that belongs to TUI, for example, and for us to contribute the waiters and chambermaids... This is not development; this has no future.

Each region must have its own development vision. There is no one model that fits all. What Crete needs may not be the same as what Kythira, Mani, Epirus, etc. need.

And here we come to the responsibilities of the state, of institutional actors, but also to our own responsibilities (because we vote for all of them)... The change in the development model in Kythira must include tourism, but not as a «monoculture.» The island's development cannot rely exclusively on tourism and real estate. This is not sustainable in the long term and is also very vulnerable to all kinds of external factors (e.g., fires, regional wars, economic crisis, effects of climate change).

As far as the tourism model itself is concerned, Kythira is not suitable (nor do we recommend it) for «mass tourism.» Instead, it should invest in quality and thematic tourism. However, when targeting «quality» tourists (who spend more but can also visit the island outside the usual two-month period of July-August), you must also offer quality services. For example, the airport runway must be extended so that direct flights from abroad can land, aircraft can be refueled, and a category 1 ship can connect Piraeus-Gythio-Antikythira-Crete, the road network must be improved, telecommunications must be improved (especially the desperately slow internet), and the catering and hospitality services provided must also be improved. The latter may upset some tourism professionals, but they need to understand that this year there were more complaints about value for money than ever before. The «champion» of the complaints we received was catering. In many cases, the food offered was barely acceptable, but at a much higher price than ever before... This does not apply to all businesses, of course, but even a few are enough to spoil the image...

The change in the tourism model therefore primarily concerns the (absent) state, the (visionless) local government, but also tourism professionals. Tourism must have an identity; it must be high-quality experiential tourism in every form. We must realize that ten high-quality tourists in October can be more influential than 50 «mass» tourists in August.

Even more so, we must take care of the foreigners who honor us and invest in Kythira and Antikythira, who buy homes and stay on our islands for long periods of time, acting as our ambassadors in their countries. These friends of our islands should have a direct line of communication with the municipality, perhaps by assigning the relevant responsibility to a deputy mayor.

It is also clear that tourism must be linked to local primary production and (where possible) standardization. The first consumers (and best advertisers) of local quality products are the visitors to our islands. They seek out (without always finding...) products that bear the Kythirian identity. Oil, honey, meat, cheese, rusks, fruit, vegetables, aromatic herbs, etc. are in high demand, without contributing to the local economy as much as they could...

Finally, let's think a little about the future: We have well and truly entered the age of artificial intelligence. It is a challenge to be exploited. Digital nomads (remote digital workers) are set to increase in the coming years. Will we give them the option to work for any international company while living in Kythira and Antikythira? This, of course, is a challenge that has certain prerequisites (strong internet, health and education services, leisure options for employees, etc.). It would also be beneficial for digital nomads to have a room with the necessary infrastructure and enough workstations. This requires a strong and clear commitment from all involved parties and individuals.

The latter simply means that we must put an end to those whose priority is «direct assignments,» those who have no vision, those who use public money to fund «fraudsters and crooks,» depriving the real beneficiaries of it, those who are uneducated and incompetent, who simply feed off public money without ever having worked in the private sector to understand «how to make ends meet»... A vision for the development of Greece and Kythira requires the right personnel. And today, this personnel is not in positions of responsibility because we (in the broad sense of «we») simply voted for the most unsuitable candidates...

Author of the article:

Yannis Koronaios

Journalist