Thailand of Europe' Greeks feel priced out of holidaying in their own country

Greeks feel priced out of holidaying in their own country

- Helena Smith

From a booth facing the ferries moored at Piraeus, Tassos Papadopoulos cuts tickets for passengers heading to the isles of the Saronic Gulf. It's 5pm on a hot summer's day and through the sun-streaked haze he takes in the cars and trucks lining up to cross the steel ramp into the hold of the Aegina-bound vessel. Last year the queues were much longer.

"People aren't travelling it seems," he says with a shrug. "The weekend traffic is heavier but ticket sales are down by, I'd say, 50%." Shimmering within view of the hills beneath the Acropolis, the Argo-Saronic islands are popular precisely because of their proximity to Athens. In 2024 Aegina attracted more than 2 million visitors, many of them budget-conscious Greeks drawn by the island's affordable ferry fares.

"This time last August, all the loungers over there were taken by 10am," says Konstantinos Tsantas, who runs a watersports business on shores framed by the jugged outline of the Peloponnese beyond.

"This year they're empty. I know watersports people all over the country and they all say the same: that business is down. And to think, Aegina is comparatively cheap."

This will be remembered as the year Greeks decided to forfeit their annual pilgrimage to the beach. The carefree joys of summer have, for many, fallen prey to the harsh reality of making ends meet.