Greek island of Santorini sees significant drop in number of tourists

Euronews

09-06-2025

The main street without many people, alleys that are not crowded with visitors; these are uncommon sights during the summer months in Santorini's capital, Fira.
For the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic, Santorini, one of the most popular Greek islands, is experiencing a decline in tourist traffic.
Earthquake activity on the island earlier this year deterred many international visitors from choosing it for their summer holidays.
In recent weeks, arrivals have been increasing, but the numbers are far short of the highs of previous years.
"In Santorini, available airline seats are down 26% from the beginning of the year to date. But the indications we have in terms of supply of seats are down in the range of 7%-8% for the summer, so we expect a result with losses of 10%-15%," said president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Yannis Paraschis.
The president of the Santorini hoteliers, Antonis Pagoni, told Euronews he estimates a further fall in tourist traffic and warned that the effects will spread throughout the entire Greek economy.
"The president of SETE talked about airport arrivals," he added, "but I will unfortunately say that overall arrivals will be down about 20%-25%. Right now we are moving at -25% to -30%. It's a huge reduction in a destination like Santorini that attracts more than 3 million visitors. You know, it's 10% of Greek tourism. We are not sure if Greece can afford to lose that revenue."
The island's hoteliers are offering discounts on room rates to attract last-minute tourists.
Almost every day three cruise ships stop in Santorini and thousands of visitors get off to admire the island's sights.
The cruise tax, which will finally start to be collected from July, is not expected to affect this year's cruise ship arrivals.
At the same time, the cost of living crisis affecting many parts of the world is also leaving its mark on Santorini.
This year, visitors are more restrained in their spending and this can be seen not only in hotel bookings but also in the alleys of the Greek islands.
According to shop owners, tourists this year are spending significantly less than in previous years, not only on dining but also on buying souvenirs.
Shares in chip designer Alphawave rose sharply on Monday after the British-Canadian firm agreed to be acquired by US rival Qualcomm for around $2.4bn (€2.1bn) in cash.
As of around 9.45am London time, Alphawave's stock had risen around 23% in daily trading on the LSE.
Qualcomm's offer values each share at 183p, a 96% premium on the closing price seen on 31 March, the final day before Qualcomm and Alphawave announced they were holding discussions.
The $2.4bn valuation is still half of the total worth attributed to Alphawave when it launched an IPO in 2021.
At its stock market debut, Alphawave shares were worth 410p each and the group was valued at £3.1bn (€2.7bn), although the firm has generally traded well below this level since its IPO.
The deal is expected to close in the first three months of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
Alphawave designs semiconductor technology for data centres and AI applications, thus providing Qualcomm with an opportunity to diversify away from smartphone components.
'Qualcomm's acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers,' said Tony Pialis, CEO of Alphawave Semi.
'By combining our resources and expertise, we will be well-positioned to expand our product offerings, reach a broader customer base, and enhance our technological capabilities,' he added.
Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, commented on the deal: 'The combined teams share the goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling next-level connected computing performance across a wide array of high growth areas, including data center infrastructure.'
Alphawave said its directors would unanimously advise shareholders to vote in favour of the takeover.
For the deal to go ahead, it would require a green light from investors representing 75% of shares.
The takeover raises concerns about the attractiveness of listing in the UK, particularly after other high-profile departures from the LSE.
Food-delivery service Deliveroo and cybersecurity and AI firm Darktrace have both agreed to be acquired by US firms. The fintech Wise also announced last week that it would be moving its primary listing to the US.