Tinos: Shareholders left, ‘water tanks’ came

I discovered Tinos in the 1990s, and in 2003 I bought a house in the village of Isternia and settled there permanently. When I took over the artistic direction at the National Opera, I returned to Athens, but I go back and forth as often as I can. I really liked this village and in general I liked the area called Exo Meria. Places with a long tradition of marble processing, which at that time had no tourist development. During this period, other settlers arrived in the village, who were not related to Tinos by origin. Somehow, a small community of 15 formed, and we had a great time in the winter too. They were all people who wanted to be closer to nature and lead a more spiritual lifestyle. The situation began to change dramatically. Land and houses suddenly became so valuable that many could not pay their rent and were forced to leave. Their former accommodations have been moved to Airbnbs or bought by mostly French-speaking foreigners who come for a few days at Easter and two weeks in the summer. We had an oxymoron that those who wanted to revitalize the island in winter leave and those who enjoy the summer a little when it is already crowded come. At the same time, luxurious residences with pools, which are called water reservoirs, began to be built everywhere. It’s crazy that this is happening in places like the Cyclades where we have water problems. “Development” on Tinos takes place without the simultaneous development of public infrastructure, such as, for example. energy system. Right now, we can have up to ten short power outages every day. Add the cost of food. Once upon a time, you could find taverns here where you could enjoy the amazing products of Tinos relatively inexpensively. Every year it gets harder and harder to find places where you don’t get huge bills.

Giorgos Kumentakis, artistic director of the National Opera

Santorini

As a current permanent resident of the island and owner of a small hotel, the changes I have seen over the past decade are staggering. I see pools with an area of ​​1115 sq.m. are being built. and at the same time there should be no houses for doctors, teachers, archaeologists. Did you know that the Akrotiri archaeological site cannot be visited in its entirety because the archaeologists cannot come and stay? The average stay has been reduced from one week to three days because people come in to take Instagram photos and leave. Our own visitors are worried too, but the magic of the island and the right guidance on where and when to go still keeps them going. It’s like we’re fighting a battle that’s already lost. But we will.

Lefteris Zorzos, archaeologist and hotelier

Koufonisia

In the 90s, when Pano Koufonisi was a desert strip, our parents took their savings and bought an idyllic piece of land. As the years went by and no money was found to build it, we installed a second-hand caravan for our family vacation, which today seems to be a dissonance among the luxurious rooms with pools that surround us more and more suffocatingly. Just as vacationers have been evicted from Kato Koufonisi this year, we too are feeling increasingly unwelcome as we don’t fit the profile of a (wealthy) tourist who can now afford big expenses, or a young person who works seasonally. to earn an afternoon bath.

Pascua Borgia, Pavlos Fizakis, artists

syros

On Syros you are welcomed and accepted. He hugs you. That is why even a simple visit becomes a habit, and then the habit becomes a connection, and the connection becomes a strong desire, which often turns the tourist into an accomplice. And there are many shareholders, Greeks and foreigners, who help in its development. They become strict judges as well as ambassadors because they want to keep the beauty they have found so that every new visitor can experience it. These multiple shareholders, in agreement with the locals, want the site’s heritage to be preserved, to be singled out, to be shared with the next visitors. This is what we do at Hermoupolis Heritage. We want everyone who comes here to see their work live, even if they were created many years ago.

Dimitris Stavrakopoulos, founder of Hermoupolis Heritage

Paros

Solutions are not in more meters, but in a meter. Each Cycladic island has a measurable carrying capacity that can serve as a benchmark for its development. Paros, for example, how much pressure can it withstand without degradation? How many beds, how many flights, how many cars, how many tourists? How many people can the island hold? Logically, as much as its infrastructure can withstand, as much as sustainable development allows. If the carrying capacity of each island becomes a compass for its development and the investor will be treated with respect. It will calculate its ecological footprint. No hotels with a pool in every suite, no pharaonic projects, no privatization of beaches.

Marina Kuremenu, Founding Member and President of the City Cultural Society PYRNA

Sifnos

Wherever I go, I think of Sifnos. I have been going there since my early childhood and it has become my hometown. I won’t go again in August. I am sad that the measure, its most charming element, is being lost: the preservation of water in cisterns and springs, paths, products, livestock products, idiomatic language and songs at holidays. But excessive tourism has not been able to completely drive me out. Now I go to Sifnos once every two months. This year, in collaboration with the municipality, the non-profit company Ochi Paisame and DECA architecture, we captured the wise distribution of water in the Pulati Valley in an installation that runs all summer in Apollonia. Next to it is a digital column that constantly records the level of desalination, which, of course, drops to a dangerous level in summer. This is what I do in August – away from Sifnos. I’m looking for ideas from other places. Ways to invest in sustainable environmental management without destroying what visitors come for. They must come precisely because we find a way to keep the measure.

Amalia Zepou, director