Greece begins charging cruise ships visiting islands

Cruise ships docking at the popular islands of Santorini and Mykonos will have to pay 20 euros per passenger from July 1, and 5 euros per passenger for cruise ships to smaller islands.

On July 1, Greece began imposing fees on cruise ships visiting its islands.

This is the latest effort by one of several European countries to tackle the surge in tourist numbers to popular destinations on the Old Continent.

Cruise ships docking at the popular islands of Santorini and Mykonos will have to pay 20 euros ($23.60) per passenger starting July 1, the Greek Finance Ministry said. A 5-euro per passenger tax will apply to cruise ships visiting smaller islands.

Greece passed the law last year and implemented it during the peak summer season to curb the surge in tourist numbers at its popular destinations.

Before Greece, last year Italy also applied a fee of 5 euros for tourists on certain days when visiting Venice - one of the world's top tourist destinations.

In Spain, the government has cracked down on illegal short-term tourist rentals, with websites such as Airbnb and Booking.com ordered to remove thousands of ads, amid local concerns about rising housing shortages and prices.

Last June, the famous island of Ibiza began restricting the number of cars and tourist groups arriving due to the increasing number of visitors.

Locals in Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain have held protests against overtourism./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hy-lap-bat-dau-ap-phi-voi-nhung-du-thuyen-toi-tham-cac-dao-post1047562.vnp