Tourism boom strains Greek islands

Crowds gathering for the sunset in Mykonos, Greece. As development alters Greek islands’ nature and culture, the locals push back. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

WITH a deluge of foreign visitors fuelling seemingly non-stop development on once pristine Greek islands, local residents and officials are beginning to fight back, moving to curb a wave of construction that has started to cause water shortages and is altering the islands’ unique cultural identity.

Tourism is crucial in Greece, accounting for one-fifth of the country’s economic output, and communities on many islands depend on it.