LetterThe Antorini signature view is amazing as ever. From my point of view at the Adami restaurant in the village full of Oia, I can see that semi -circular vacuum cleaners of volcanic cliffs that fall deeply into a blue midnight sea, while Thirassia Islet completes its outline on the other side. The ships are buzzing inside and outside the port of Fira, the island’s capital, while the massive cruise ships nearby are much lower, like bath toys.
This is a day -to -day Santorini scene, but this year’s tourist season is something other than average. Oyia, though still crowded, is significantly quieter than usual: a situation that somewhat shook the island in February, just in the middle of the peak of the reservation for the sun.
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“This has definitely had an impact,” said John Bubris, general manager of Canaves Ena, the luxurious hotel in Adi. “The island generally started a very slow start for the season, but now that everything is calm and reserved.”
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If the earthquakes occurred on any other Greek island because they had the world’s famous specifications, they are unlikely to buy headlines. In addition, the vibration is common in Greece thanks to the country’s position near a submerged area where two tectonic pages collide. However, the period of the February seismic activity was unusual.
“That intensity was not so surprising,” says John. And although there were online viral films of cliffs in Caldra cliffs, it was difficult to damage the island’s infrastructure or architecture. “The schools were closed and many locals were temporarily left, but things never got out of control,” says John. “Certainly, it was sometimes scary, but I honestly saw it exciting!”
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Canaves is not the only Santorini hotel that is pulling out of the earthquake hanging. Daniel Kerzner, Owner of Santorini Sky: A retreat to the center of the island, near the village of Pirgos, told me: “The island is completely open again, with zero constraints, even with disruption, we have welcomed nearly 20 countries since January and 90 % of the occupation in total.”
Despite this positive outlook, even a occasional observer can see that Santorini tourism has been considered. I was there in late May, before the rush of the season, and where Santorini felt comfortable. Yes, the port was very aggressive when I entered the ship, but there was hardly no one in the place where the queues were normally formed to get selfie alongside famous blue churches.
I went to OIA one morning along the rough walk from Clifftop from Fira, and I just faced a climbers’ trick, usually flooding. And when I crossed the highest village in the cliffs, dive in many hotels and sunset suites was almost all of the dive. Even the “floating clothing” and “bride and groom” was deficient. If you’ve ever wanted to see Santorini without a crowd, that could be a year.
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You may want to think about reservations soon, because peace will not last for a long time. Mercury holiday is one of the operators for which Greece is returning. “We have not seen a long -term negative impact on customer demand for Santorini and other Greek islands after the earthquake,” says Charlie Wikam, the marketing manager of the company. “Greek questions are actually higher than last year; and the reservation is especially for the last and last summer holidays.”
It even seems to have been arranged for a summer for a summer, and visitors can expect a few positive changes this year. A particular battle has been reported contrary to the revelation that has blotned Santorini’s fame in recent years. Much of the crowd has been attributed to visiting travel ships, although 20 euros (16.80 pounds) for each traveler’s tax on the beach is one of the measures offered this year to start resetting balance.
Elsewhere, there are movements to counter the notion that Santorini is unique and expensive, especially in OIA, where the cave hotels mean that some of them can be eliminated by charging the highest rates in Greece.
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“Several OIA Dining Restaurants have recently become traditional Greek cuisine,” says John Barbariis. “This is changing in response to consumer behavior towards easier and more reliable experiences, but it also helps to tackle the very expensive Santorini image.”
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I told him that everything for the holiday looks like Santorni, I told him. “Definitely”, John agrees. “It is great that hoteliers, cruise lines and other stakeholders are collectively gathered to improve the overall guest experience, especially in OIA. This can only be a good thing.”
Mercury holidays can fly, transfers and seven nights B & B in Canaves Oia Sunday Suites from £ 1465 pounds (Mercuryholidays.co.uk).
