Tourism boom putting strain on holiday island of Santorini

Rapidly rising tourist numbers are putting a strain on the local community, natural environment and long-term popularity of the Greek holiday island of Santorini, experts warn. Following a report on Monday in The Guardian about the effects of overdevelopment, Kathimerini asked local island officials and researchers at the University of the Aegean (UoA) to explain some of the risks of allowing tourism to grow unchecked.

"After examining the number of arrivals, overnight stays and beds in 2016, we determined that at the peak of the tourism season, the island received around 70,000 people on a daily basis, meaning that things such as demand for water far surpassed capabilities," said Ioannis Spilanis, an associate professor of social and environmental sciences at the University of the Aegean and scientific adviser at the South Aegean Tourism Observatory.

"Everything...