Santorini, the iconic Cycladic island, is faced with a significant decline in tourist numbers and unprecedented price reductions, mainly due to the series of earthquakes earlier this year.
As hoteliers on the island are grappling with a new reality, some see this period as an opportunity for Santorini to recalibrate, offering a more authentic and value-driven experience for those who choose to visit.
Christina Dimopoulou, a seasoned hotel manager on Santorini with 13 years of experience on the island, offers an insightful perspective on the current tourism season. As the manager of Fyralia Hotel, part of Aria Hotels, and overseeing other properties, she has a broad understanding of how the recent earthquakes have impacted the island’s hospitality sector.
“We are definitely in a decline compared to last season,” Dimopoulou confirms, speaking to Greek Reporter. She believes a small decrease was already anticipated, but the earthquakes exacerbated it.
Despite the downturn in numbers, she notes a positive shift in the island’s atmosphere. “In terms of lifestyle, things are better, because it is easier to move around on some streets, you don’t have the feeling of overtourism, everything flows a little easier,” she explains.
This quieter season has reinforced Dimopoulou’s long-held belief about Santorini’s tourism future. She advocates for a strategic pivot towards managing visitor numbers for the island’s long-term sustainability and quality.
“My opinion is that we should generally take seriously the way our work is progressing this year compared to other years, perhaps putting a limit on how many people this island can welcome based on the infrastructure that exists and the space that exists and all that we can offer better,” Dimopoulou emphasizes.
She believes this approach would be “a good way for Santorini to advance in tourism in perpetuity and constantly increase the quality of its service provision and not simply how many more people it can welcome each year.”
Her insights suggest a move away from a purely volume-driven tourism model, instead prioritizing the visitor experience and the island’s capacity to offer high-quality services sustainably.
Giannis Bubaris, Hotel Manager at Canaves Ena, a collection of unique suites nestled on Santorini, offers a nuanced perspective on the recent challenges facing Santorini’s tourism sector.
“When it comes to earthquakes, I think there are different perspectives and different dynamics. The impact is not the same for everyone,” Bubaris states, noting that three-star, four-star, five-star, and luxury hotels have largely remained “more unaffected” compared to other establishments.
Despite the initial shock, Canaves Ena considers themselves fortunate. While the season is “very reduced compared to what we expected for the earthquake,” Giannis reveals, “we are operating at levels that are slightly increased compared to our season last year.”
He clarifies to Greek Reporter that the primary impact wasn’t mass cancellations, but rather a halt in the “pace” of new reservations, which has since begun to recover. May 2025, the first full month of operation since the events, even surpassed last year’s May figures for his hotel.
Bubaris believes the current situation presents a unique opportunity for visitors. With fewer tourists, Santorini’s high-quality services and luxurious accommodations are available at more competitive prices.
“Visitors for 2025 will have to benefit many times over,” he asserts. “They will have very high services, very expensive accommodations to have a vacation with very low prices compared to previous years.” This sentiment extends to the local market, including restaurants and shops, which are also offering better value.
For Bubaris, this makes 2025 “a great opportunity for someone who wants to visit Santorini and Greece.”
On the broader topic of Santorini’s tourism capacity, he acknowledges concerns about saturation, particularly from the influx of cruise ship passengers. He argues that the “product that Santorini provides… has inelastically competitive advantages of the view that a visitor cannot find in many places in the world.”
However, he believes “saturation has occurred mainly due to the cruise ship visitors, which he feels can negatively impact the experience of overnight guests.
He advocates for a more sustainable approach to development. “Investments should be reduced because I think that the pie has grown to a degree or two, which can become untenable as a destination in a few years,” he warns, suggesting the island should reach a “plateau” in building investments.
George Tsolakakis, Co-Owner and Managing Director of Aqua Vista Hotels, a company managing 25 hotels in Santorini, two in Naxos, and one in Paros, paints a stark picture of the current season.
“Statistically, Santorini is currently at minus 40 percent in turnover, somewhere around minus 37 percent in occupancy compared to ’24,” Tsolakakis reveals to Greek Reporter. He anticipates the year could close with a decline “around minus 30 percent,” potentially even more. This sharp drop is largely attributed to the initial months of the year, particularly March, which was closer to the time of earthquake concerns.
Despite some positive signs in June, particularly with reservations, prices remain exceptionally low. Hotels are offering “discounts of 40 and 50 percent” compared to last year. The situation is even more dire when compared to 2023, as Tsolakakis notes, “last year from the year before closed at minus 20 percent. So if we compare this year with the year before, we go to minus 60.”
This economic pressure has led to widespread cuts across the industry. “There have been cuts in employees, energy, food, services, in anything so that we can survive, as companies all,” Tsolakakis emphasizes. This has had a direct impact on the overall quality of the tourism experience.
Santorini, once synonymous with luxury travel, is struggling to attract high-end clientele this year. “There is no luxury tourism at the moment in Santorini this year, nothing,” states Tsolakakis. What were once €400-€500 per night rooms are now going for around €200, representing a “50-60 percent down in relation to other years.”
While some might suggest “overtourism” is to blame, Tsolakakis vehemently refutes the notion that people are simply tired of Santorini. “No, no one can get tired of Santorini. We have lived here for 30 years and we are still staring at sunsets.”
Instead, he attributes the downturn to the uncertainty surrounding seismic activity. Although the significant earthquakes in February and March occurred in Crete and Kassos, not directly in Santorini, the general perception of instability has deterred bookings. “It is the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen. Because of the earthquakes,” he clarifies.
This apprehension creates a detrimental ripple effect: “The reservations aren’t coming. We’re taking down the budget and that’s the chain. That’s how it goes. That’s why we’re constantly short of turnover.”
Speaking to Greek Reporter, Antonis Pagonis, President of the Santorini Hoteliers Association, confirmed the tourism decline, but sees a potential rebound. “The hotel sector shows that it has a positive pick-up from June onwards.” He hopes that last-minute bookings, typical for July and August, will help recover some of the losses.
In response to the dip, Santorini hotels are offering significantly lower prices, with reductions of “around 50 percent.” Pagonis asserts that Santorini is currently “the most value-for-money island” in the Cyclades, citing examples of respectable hotels in Fira available for 100 euros in August.
Pagonis also stresses the broader impact of Santorini’s performance on other Cycladic islands, as it serves as a central hub.
He consistently highlights that many issues attributed to “overtourism” are actually “the result of the lack of proper infrastructure,” including a functioning port and marina, and adequate road networks, waste management, and basic services. He urges the government to make substantial public investments.
Pagonis concludes that while the “50 days” of lost bookings are hard to recover, broader economic issues in Europe and America are also making people hesitant to travel.
Related: Santorini’s New Dawn: Regulated Tourism and Sustainable Growth
