Last Monday, a flight of about 180 German tourists landed on the Greek island of Kos. The passengers comprised of doctors and other medical staff on a paid five-day vacation trip to the birthplace of Hippocrates, funded by Bild and TUI airlines to reward them for their contribution against the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. The Greek tourism minister himself was there to greet the practitioners, and remarked that this was an opportunity to showcase the safety precautions Greece is taking to mitigate the spread of the virus.

The weak Hippocratic symbolism aside, this paid vacation is representative of a bigger issue. It builds on the philosophy that European tourists must be rewarded for their yearly toil with a vacation in Greece come hell or high water; and, more importantly, that Greece must accommodate tourists, or its economy will die. With tourism accounting for over 20% of its GDP, the northeastern Mediterranean country cannot afford to adopt a “tourists not welcome” mentality like Spain did a few years back. Worries about the hospitality economy in Greece tanking under COVID-19 restrictions were so prolific during the height of the pandemic that they overshadowed the prospect of a second wave; and as international flights gradually increase in number, many Greek islanders breathe a collective sigh of relief. 

Greece’s dependency on European tourism has a diverse range of implications - even on the environment. But before we start whittling at the negatives, let's consider the obvious positive: doesn't international tourism bring money to the table? It certainly does, but it comes at a price. 

The Greek islands have long been neglected, with many offshore communities having poor access to healthcare, education, and opportunities for upward mobility. Some of the smaller islands can get cut off from the mainland for extended periods of time in the winter, making certain goods or advanced medical attention difficult to obtain. For some citizens of the Aegean, the ride to the nearest emergency room is by helicopter.

It’s no wonder, then, that these communities would latch onto their growing popularity with European visitors to turn profits. Over time, Greek islanders focused their efforts on making their towns and villages appealing to the average tourist, creating accommodations, souvenir shops, and eateries, promoting local points of interest, and maintaining an attractive balance between tradition and luxury. Many learned a second or third language to keep up with the competition. Entire families are now dedicated to the hospitality sector, a line of work that can keep them busy throughout the day; and while this is considered standard in the industry, it raises some alarming questions about the livelihoods of tourism-dependent communities.  

First of all, let’s consider the logistics of running a typical family hotel; do these families have to bend their lifestyles around the needs of their clientele? Hospitality is a 24/7 job, and between waiting on the guests and keeping the establishment in order, how much time is allotted for personal development and the pursuit of interest or leisure? For smaller ventures that require all hands on deck, how much time are children and teenagers allowed for education and extracurriculars, and how does that affect their future prospects? And, in the ongoing cultural adjustment of globalization, to what extent do these communities alienate themselves in order to conform to the expectations of the tourist eye? These questions aren’t strictly rhetorical, but the answers are often unfortunate.

The second question is one of environmental viability. As we break into the era of sustainability and terms like responsible travel and blue growth become increasingly prominent in the hospitality sector, many existing practices can no longer be tenable. But what do these terms mean exactly?

Sustainable tourism is an approach to hospitality that strives for the lowest environmental and cultural impact possible. Holidaymakers can often be disrespectful to their hosts and destinations, sometimes to the extent of diminishing natural beauty. This also works the other way around: many of the services tourist destinations provide cause significant harm to the environment. For instance, cruise ships are responsible for gas emissions and wastewaters that severely impact the balance of aquatic ecosystems. That waste comes from many different places - cooking oil, wash waters, the bilge and ballast of the ship - meaning that the issue of cruise water pollution requires a series of engineering breakthroughs to solve rather than a single sustainability panacea. Innovation is driven by financial incentives, and this is where blue growth comes in. The European Commission defines blue growth as “a long term strategy to support sustainable [development] in the marine and maritime sectors” — which, in layman’s terms, means that environmental responsibility is now part of the tourist economy. 

So where does Greece land in the spectrum of sustainable practices? Or, more importantly, does the country’s cumbersome legal system and massive influx of tourists allow it to keep up with sustainability? The Greek economy has been in crisis for a decade now and has exhibited a backwards legislative approach to environmental issues. The latest environmental reform opened the gates of at-risk natural reserves to mining companies. Multiple islands in the Aegean archipelago have been approved for wind turbines with absolute disregard for the impact this will have on their biodiversity. While the Global Destination Sustainability index - currently the most detailed ranking of tourist destinations - is unavailable for Greece, the above paint a poignant picture about the success in that department. There is also the issue of constant, uninterrupted demand for hospitality services and activities in the Mediterranean that encourage keeping unsustainable practices in place. Why change it if it works?

That line of thinking is, of course, unsustainable in itself. Consumers are motivated to buy green products, and this benchmark will inevitably be applied to tourism destinations as well. As Greece continues to experience a complex economic and cultural relationship with the rest of the world, it will have to keep up with green standards — and that is, among other things, a question of being given the time, space, and respect needed to become sustainable.