1. Introduction

The Aegean presents a complex picture: geographically situated in the margin of mainland Greece but also of Europe, with a rich historical background, it preserves to a great extent its traditional elements. To the outside world it is thought to strongly represent the traditional, and therefore “Hellenic”, character. For a Greek, it represents the particular place of origin, the homeland, whereas for a foreigner it is Greece’s facade for the outside world. In the eyes of tourists, the Aegean landscape symbolizes the cradle of Western civilization, the region with the warm, sunny climate and the calm, hospitable inhabitants. Especially during the 70s, the “romantic” element of the Aegean has repeatedly been projected outwards, presenting the islands as sites of idyllic innocence and blissfulness.

What the tourists were introduced to be the romantic site of the Aegean landscape as the land of the mythological gods, an idyllic heaven, with marvelous climate, far removed from the requirements of modern life. The landscape’s natural and anthropogenic features stress these aspects of the Aegean, as well as the uniqueness of the area’s cultural identity.

Tourism is one of the few human activities that generate significant changes not only in economy and society, but also in the landscape and the environment, at local as well as regional, national and universal levels. The Aegean islands, due to the distinct character of their local societies and natural ecosystems, as well as to their dynamic relations and interaction, constitute an important pole of tourist attraction and are particularly sensitive to the pressures of tourism development.

2. Tourism development in the Aegean

2. 1. Historical retrospection

The state tourism policy, Greek businessmen, foreign tourist enterprises, traders, migrants and mariners who invested in tourist enterprises were the basic factors that determined the growth course of the Aegean islands. By the 50s, the Greek state started hesitantly to promote tourism development. That is when the first hotel units were established in the Cyclades, thanks to private initiative. They were small hotels, harmoniously integrated in the insular landscape. Later on, in order to meet the expanding needs for tourist services, hotel architecture did not respect the landscape and the micro-scale of traditional insular urban fabric.

In the beginning of the 80s, private investment in the tourism sector was encouraged. The islands of the Eastern Aegean, as opposed to the Cyclades, remained in the margin of tourism development until the end of the 80s. As a result, they largely retained their distinct character and architectural richness, further assisted by their comparatively large size.

2. 2. Tourism development in the Aegean Islands

The extent and form of tourism development is different in each of the Aegean islands. There are regions with very intense and different forms of development, like the Dodecanese and the Cyclades, regions of medium development, like for example Samos, and others in which tourism is still developing, like for example Lesvos and Chios.

The kind of tourism development varies amongst the Aegean islands, creating different types of tourist landscapes and determining from the outset the tourists’ destination. A case in point is the expansion of mass tourism in the Dodecanese (Rhodes, Kos), in Crete, in some islands of the Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini) and some of Sporades (Skiathos). In many of these islands, tourism did not create the opportunities for a stable and long term basis for development, but led to the establishment of luxury foreign ownership hotels and cheap accommodation owned by the locals. In smaller islands where, due to the configuration of the landscape as well as the socio-economic development, there are no large tourist units, small establishments are being favored and “back-pack tourists” abound (e.g. Ios).

In the islands whose economy is not entirely based on tourism (e.g. islands of the northeastern Aegean), domestic tourism and holiday dwellings have increased.

The diversity in the concentration of tourism in the Aegean islands is mainly due to the following three reasons:

a) The uneven development in infrastructures

The existence of tourist resources and favorable climatic conditions in a region does not provide an adequate basis for tourism development. Ensuring factors such as a minimum level of general and specific infrastructures, but also of services (drinking water, electricity, transport network, telecommunications, tourist accommodation of various kinds and classes, port reception facilities for recreational craft, recreational services, and archaeological sites open to public etc) constitute important requirements.

b) The pursued tourism policy

The increased tourist flow in a limited number of areas is not only due to the uneven development in the Greek territory. The tourism policy often promoted or continued the country’s uneven development, aiming at the rapid increase of the number of foreign tourists at minimum cost. Despite the will expressed in the legislative texts and regional development plans, Greece promoted even more the existing tourist growth points with its intervention.

c) The role of tour operators

The industrialization of tourism is closely linked to the constantly growing role of tour operators, who affect the volume of the tourist flow as well as the destination choices. The increase in the number of destinations offering the same tourist product and the oversupply of beds testify the decisive role they currently play.

3. The impact of tourism in the Aegean

3. 1. General

The level of tourism development affects significantly the quality of the environment, the natural and cultural heritage, the built environment, the local economy and the society of the Aegean islands. The consumption of goods and services at the place of production and supply of the tourist product has a manifold economical, social, cultural and environmental impact. The visitors use the tourist resources, the beaches, the historical and archaeological sites for recreation, while at the same time being recipients of waste, traffic and pollution. The Aegean landscape run the risk of becoming a theatre stage, where everything is directed just for the tourists, and of being enriched with elements which only intend to facilitate the visitors, without offering the locals viable solutions. In landscapes like this, public and private life interlaces, and leisure time and spectacle are of primary importance in all their local forms and functions. The result is often the eradication of the geographical distinctiveness and the homogenization of the tourist features.

The Aegean islands, due to their distinctive features, as the confined space, the few natural resources and raw materials, as well as the limited human resources, are particularly sensitive to the impact of tourism. Cases in point are the Cyclades islands, especially Mykonos, Santorini, Ios and Paros. In these cases, the local Aegean societies are faced with a situation in which their economic, socio-cultural and environmental resources are exploited without measures being taken to ensure their sustainability.

3. 2. The positive impact

The tourism development in the peripheral regions of the Aegean promotes the exploitation of economic, natural and human resources, which hitherto remained inactive or subemployed. It is clear that the evolution of total employment has been positively affected at increasing pace.

A noticeable increase is reported in the construction industry, which constitutes the largest contributor to secondary sector employment. Cases in point are the Dodecanese islands, where the inhabitants’ housing needs were met, apart from the new constructions, by the restoration of older buildings. Many of these interventions on the buildings as well as on the landscape helped the locals experience their own space through a perspective similar to that of the visitor. The contribution of tourism in the immigration restraint is remarkable, while at the same time a large number of islanders who live in the capital return and start a tourist business. There is no doubt that the impact of tourism on the maintenance of the natural and built environment’s quality is in many cases positive.

3. 3. The negative social impact

However, mass tourism growth had also a negative impact, which was different in nature and extent depending on how fast a region crossed the line from the initial “discovery” stage to that of mass tourism.

The Aegean islands, where mass tourism spread rapidly and was established as a “monoculture”, experienced significant negative social consequences. On the contrary, in the islands with average tourism growth, lagged behind in tourism development, the upset of the social life was avoided and local people adopted a more cautious stance towards mass tourism development.

Some of the negative effects of tourism growth are high seasonability and mass tourism, coupled with the seasonal operation of many related businesses, which limit the positive impact of tourism on the permanent residents’ life quality. Amongst the negative effects are the drug trafficking, the commercialization of the relations among the locals and the formation of a “touristized” youth.

3. 4. The negative impact o the environment and the landscape

The environmental pollution due to waste disposal, the water pollution and –in many insular settlements- the sound pollution, are a particularly serious problem. At the same time, the aesthetic pollution has increased significantly, especially in the built environment (settlements and buildings). Houses and modern or “pseudo-traditional” hotels are being built in protected settlements of rare architectural beauty.
Traditional buildings are transformed into tourist establishments (restaurants, bars, discos, folk art shops), usually accompanied by signboards written in foreign languages or huge pricelists. Especially in the Cyclades, traditional settlements are liable to deterioration because of the numerous tourist visitors. However, along with the traditional settlements, numerous monuments of great archaeological and cultural value are also being irretrievably damaged.

The requirements of mass tourism resulted in the creation of autonomous tourist “ghettos” and to substantial modifications of the natural landscape. The landscape loses its ethos and aesthetic identity, as the new buildings are not consistent with the environment. The hasty solutions, the poor planning as well as the wrong choice of interventions result in the modification of the landscape, the disturbance of its balance and its consistency. Furthermore, the changes of the cultivation structure, given that the injudicious tourism growth dictates the use of the land for other purposes, resulted in the shrinking of agricultural activity and, compared to national indices, to the drop in the agricultural production of the Aegean islands.

4. Conclusion

Despite its negative effects, tourism in the Aegean played an impelling role in the islands where it was mainly developed. It constituted a pole of development, since it contributed to the increase in economic fundamentals (employment, income, investments, and production) and prevailed in the local productive system, determining the developments in the more touristic areas. Hence, the annual tourist cycle in the above areas determined their economic, social and cultural life.

Of course it’s not the tourist phenomenon in itself that causes the negative effects but its non-rational development. Because tourism is not only an economic activity but also a combination of associated activities, its planning should take account of all these activities, of their interrelations, of their requirements, given that some of them may be compatible while others not.