The dark side of the sun that shines brightly on Greece’s tourist industry

Forest fires, fireball sunsets, Sahara-style heat. For weeks, it seems, the sun has burned brighter than ever in Greece.

- Helena Smith

In late July when the mercury surpassed 40C for seven straight days, culture ministry officials were left with no other option but to keep archaeological sites shut. Even the Acropolis was off limits when the sun was at its most fierce.

Yet tourists keep coming. Before the season peaks, industry figures have begun to speak gleefully of another record year. Revenues are up 12%, tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni enthused last week, even if at this stage arrivals have only risen negligibly. “We have achieved our goal of becoming one of the top 10 most popular places globally,” she said, attributing the success, in part, to tourists piling in even in the winter.

An unprecedented 40.7 million visitors - four times the population — were recorded last year, according to the Bank of Greece. Few believe that number won't soar further if the centre-right government makes good on its promise to conquer the markets of Asia.

From the balcony of the neoclassical building that houses the town hall in Symi, mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas has a bird’s-eye view of the boats that almost hourly decant tourists from nearby Rhodes.