By Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis
(IG: @vassiliosvitsilogiannis)
Christos Veronis, the mayor of Mykonos, envisions a revitalized island that balances tourism with sustainable development. He aims to restore Mykonos’ reputation as a premier global destination by enhancing infrastructure, promoting cultural experiences and addressing challenges posed by over-tourism. His leadership focuses on community collaboration and modernizing the tourism sector.
What strategies will you implement to promote tourism in Mykonos during your mayoral term?
Mykonos is an established and popular tourist destination. We aim to enhance its reputation by upgrading and diversifying our tourism product to meet the new demands of tourist preferences (personalized experiences, alternative tourism, etc.). We are designing a new tourism identity for Mykonos by leveraging advantages our island possesses but have not been sufficiently showcased, such as culture, tradition, local gastronomy and engagement with the landscape and its people. All these elements will be highlighted and promoted through targeted marketing efforts, utilizing both modern and traditional communication and also promotion channels available to us.
How do you utilize EU funds to develop infrastructure and services in the tourism sector?
As a municipal authority, we work with our services and specialized external partners to develop and submit well-documented proposals for all co-financed programs for which the municipality may be eligible. We advocate for and secure funding for projects, services and actions related to modern technical and digital infrastructures, sustainable tourism services and programs addressing climate change and digital modernization. Available municipal resources are also directed towards these goals. We aim to ensure a sustainable future for tourism while improving the daily lives of both local residents and visitors to our island.
Have you noticed a decrease in tourist numbers over the past two years? What are the main causes of this decline?
Mykonos has experienced a slight decrease in the number of overnight visitors arriving primarily via international flights. This correction follows the tourism “boom” of the first year after the end of the COVID pandemic, with several contributing factors: first, the normal “fatigue” experienced by all traditional top tourist destinations worldwide; second, the increasing competition from new emerging destinations vying for a share of the tourism market; third, some specific negative incidents recorded in recent years that have affected the island’s reputation; and fourth, a tangible decrease in disposable income among visitors from key source countries for Mykonos’s tourism market, particularly those in Western Europe.
What are your proposals for addressing issues arising from over-tourism in Mykonos?
The concept of “over-tourism” in terms of absolute saturation does not exist in Mykonos. However, we do face the phenomena of visitor overconcentration during specific periods at certain locations on the island. We propose and plan to implement measures aimed at better managing tourist flows within the island, particularly from cruise ships, as well as improving technical infrastructures and services that support both visitor accommodation and movement, as well as those of our permanent residents.
How do you plan to improve the island’s infrastructure to support tourism development?
In the 1990s and 2000s, Mykonos developed modern infrastructures that adequately met the intense tourist growth on the island. Unfortunately, this was followed by a period of stagnation that created a significant “gap” in infrastructure and services. Our strategic plan aims to fill this gap by upgrading existing infrastructures and primarily creating new, resilient modern infrastructures in areas such as road construction, water management, liquid and solid waste management, port facilities, marine tourism installations, sustainable mobility and digital services.
What actions have you taken to make Mykonos more accessible to visitors with limited financial means?
Mykonos has always been a destination with high-quality services across all sectors-accommodation, dining, entertainment, transportation and many more. However, the tourism product of Mykonos is diverse enough to be available to visitors with varying income levels. Certainly, it is not our goal to downgrade our services to cater to low-income demand. As you can understand, these benefits neither the destination nor the visitors. What we aim for is to further enhance our services and improve visitor satisfaction so that the principle of value for money fully applies. In this context, we strive to control and limit instances of price gouging and poor practices by the few professionals and businesses whose behavior harms our island’s reputation.
What is your position regarding arbitrary constructions and how do you intend to manage them?
Unauthorized construction has excessively ballooned in recent years on Mykonos due to a lack of political will and the absence of regulatory mechanisms to combat the phenomenon. The consequences for the island’s natural and architectural environment from unauthorized construction are particularly severe. Our stance on this issue has been clear: there is no room for tolerance regarding unauthorized construction! However, the tools available to us as a municipality are minimal. The relevant municipal service is severely understaffed and there are numerous pending cases of illegal constructions. Therefore, it is not enough to pass laws and announce measures; determination and consistency are needed for implementation. For this reason, our municipality demands substantial support from the Central Government to address this issue.
How do you plan to ensure citizens’ access to beaches, given the increasing tourist interest?
Mykonos boasts numerous beautiful beaches, renowned worldwide with high visitor traffic. As a municipal authority, we are unequivocally in favor of protecting beaches and ensuring public access to them, having undertaken initiatives in this direction. However, enforcement of recent legislation that imposes strict penalties for illegal occupation and exploitation of beaches is also necessary. The modern perception of tourism is compatible with organized beaches that provide quality services to bathers; however, this cannot occur without rules, free spaces and in an uncontrolled manner.
What initiatives do you have for promoting sustainable tourism in Mykonos, as well as a cultural interest in Delos Island?
As previously mentioned, we have adopted the principle of sustainability in our policies; therefore, we differentiate and enhance our tourism product by promoting the sustainable utilization of Mykonos’ comparative advantages. One of these is its cultural wealth, with the most significant asset being the island of Delos. The Ministry of Culture has already renovated and reopened the Archaeological Museum of Delos to the public, which enhances interest and visitor traffic to the island. Our municipality prominently features Delos in all promotional activities for Mykonos and showcases it alongside the overall cultural heritage of Mykonos—namely its museums, archaeological sites, ecclesiastical monuments and more recent landmarks (e.g., Paraportiani Church, Monastery of Panagia Tourliani, Windmills).
What are your priorities for your next mayoral term regarding tourism development and resource management?
Mykonos is unique; you fall in love at first sight. It’s easy to visit but hard to leave. It is our duty and goal to protect what millions of visitors from around the world admire about Mykonos over time so that it remains preserved for future generations of Mykonians as well as for our numerous friends who will continue visiting us in the future. Our priority is to manage our natural and environmental resources sustainably; improve existing infrastructures while creating new, modern, resilient ones; maintain Mykonos’ global reputation as a cosmopolitan island with high-level tourist services; excel in entertainment while enhancing its tourist identity through developing alternative tourism sectors where the island has untapped resources. Mykonos deserves to be and will remain at the top of global tourism rankings.
