Evaluation of Overtourism in the Island of Crete, Greece

Overtourism describes the phenomenon where the large number of tourists overwhelm a destination, negatively affecting local communities, the environment, and visitor experiences. It has become a global issue in many popular tourism destinations in recent years. Overtourism has multiple causes and many undesired environmental, economic and social impacts. An evaluation of overtourism in the island of Crete, Greece has been realized estimating the tourism density and tourism intensity. During 2023 6,327,366 visitors arrived in Crete while their mean residence time was 5.43 days. Various indexes for assessing overtourism have been proposed. The tourism density in 2023 in Crete has been evaluated at 4,120 bed-nights/km2 while its tourism intensity at 55.63 bed-nights/resident. These values are well above the mean global and EU average. The number of visitors in Crete are growing constantly every year while the majority of tourism infrastructure is concentrated in the north coastline of the island where the large towns are located. Therefore, the cultural and historical monuments, the natural fragile ecosystems and the main towns in Crete are overcrowded particularly during the summer months. The high number of tourists in the island threatens the unique ecosystems and its historical monuments utilizing its limited natural resources. Consequently, the local tourism stakeholders should develop appropriate measures and policies decreasing the negative consequences of tourism and increasing the sustainability of the prosperous tourism industry in Crete.