Some Canadians visiting Santorini and Mykonos must pay $32 fee
Some Canadian tourists heading to popular Greek islands, such as Santorini and Mykonos, now have to pay a fee that took effect this month.
On July 1, several islands, including Santorini and Mykonos, made it mandatory for tourists to pay a new cruise passenger tax, according to The Independent.
Passengers arriving on cruise ships must pay the new fee at local ports upon disembarking.
What is the new cruise passenger tax?
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Authorities say that the revenue from the tax will go towards fixing the islands’ strained infrastructure, which has been overwhelmed by years of overtourism.
According to Greek Travel Pages, the government first announced the fee in 2024, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stating, “This is a necessary step to help communities manage the increasing number of visitors while ensuring that the infrastructure can support them.”
He added, “By imposing a proportional levy and regulating cruise ship arrivals, Greece is taking decisive action to manage the pressures of crowded tourism while maintaining the country’s appeal as a top global destination.”
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a trade association representing the cruise industry, argued that the money raised from these fees should be used to improve the islands’ port infrastructure.
How much will it cost?
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Upon disembarking at ports in Santorini and Mykonos, cruise ship passengers must pay €20 (C$32) per person, a fee that can certainly add up for families.
However, the €20 is the maximum that the country plans to charge cruise ship passengers and will only apply during the busy summer months from June 1 to Sept. 30. The fee drops to nearly half, to €12 (C$19.30), after Sept. 30. Cruise ship passengers who want to avoid crowds and visit during the less busy summer months will only have to pay €4 (C$6.43) from Nov. 1 to March 31.
The new tax could provide some cruise ship passengers with an incentive to visit lesser-known Greek islands. Other locations will only require passengers to pay a €5 (C$8.04) tax during the busy summer months, a rate that can drop to as low as €1 (C$1.61) during the off-peak season.
Daily Hive has reached out to the Ministry of Tourism for a comment.
Increasingly, countries are charging tourists to visit popular destinations.
Tourists visiting Mexico’s Baja California Sur must pay MX$470 (C$34) before entering the state. Europe also announced that it plans to triple the fee for the new visa waiver system, which is an entry requirement for visa-exempt, non-European Union citizens travelling to Europe.