Lesbos island sees unprecedented tourist surge, tests infrastructure

"For the first time after a long period of stagnation, more tourists visited the island of Lesbos than in 2015, which was one of our best periods," reports the Greek portal ertnews.gr

As tour operator Lefteris Karamplias reports, 18,373 people visited the island in 2015. This year, from April to July, 43,777 tourists have already been recorded, while last year, during the same period, only 30,693 people arrived.

The Greek media reports that the island of Lesbos is visited mainly by Europeans. Here are the statistics: England - 4,369, Netherlands - 3,541, and Denmark - 3,442.

- It should be emphasized, however, that the island "is visited by a lot of people" this year, and a surprisingly large influx of Turkish tourists played a significant role. In July, 27,960 people arrived from the opposite coast—a record number. And here, we should pay special attention to whether we have the capabilities and infrastructure to offer the required services without causing dissatisfaction and complaints from our guests - noted Karamplias.

Is the island of Lesbos ready to accommodate such a large number of tourists? The tour operator points out that there have already been cases of overbooking in hotels (accepting more reservations than available rooms) and a lack of necessary service in restaurants and taverns on the island.

It is worth mentioning that one of the restaurants announced online that it would remain closed due to a lack of supplies. There have also been difficulties observed in transporting tourists by buses.

Therefore, special caution should be exercised so that this exceptionally high traffic does not bring about adverse effects. We will have to decide what kind of tourism we want, based on our capabilities - emphasizes Karamplias.