Crete: Loved to Death by Tourism

Aug. 15 -- Its stunning beaches, spectacular mountains, and Mediterranean climate make Crete the most popular destination in Greece. Almost one-fourth of the 12 million tourists to visit Greece each year head for the 150-mile-long island.

But its beauty is also its curse. Tourists are loving Crete to death.

Researchers from the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas estimate Crete’s tourism business has grown by about 50 percent over the past decade, and the island is choking from the invasion.

Tour operators have taken over once-quaint coastal villages. Soft, sandy beaches and secluded coves where travelers once could enjoy a warm, solitary communion with nature now are forested with beach umbrellas and litter.

Motorbikes, their high-octane squeal frightening away migratory birds, are rutting and scarring the island wetlands, changing the sensitive ecosystem. Even the island’s rich Minoan heritage is under threat, as archaeological sites go unprotected. Guidebooks now warn, “If you haven’t visited Crete in the past few years, brace yourself for a shock.”

“There has been rampant development with no planning,” says Michael Romanos, a professor of planning at the University of Cincinnati.

“The things people are coming to see are disappearing,” says Romano’s co-worker, Professor Brenda Scheer.

Romanos and Scheer are part of a team organized to save Crete from itself.

Help From a University

At the invitation of local governments, the University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning put together a group of volunteers — 12 professors and 12 students — called the Sustainable Development Group. They are helping Crete overcome its growth problems before it’s too late.

The group (which has done similar work in developing regions of Thailand and Indonesia) is comprised of economists, planners, geographers, biologists, architects, sociologists, political and communications experts and designers. They have spent two years studying tourism, the environment and development on Crete.