ATHENS—On the southern slopes of the Acropolis, vacationers in flip-flops clamber throughout tough rocks in the hunt for the right Parthenon selfie. Town’s central cafes are crammed. And, down on the port, officers in pristine white uniforms fastidiously direct the automobiles, folks, and bicycles setting sail throughout the Aegean Sea. It is summer time in Athens, and the Greek tourism trade is having an excellent 12 months.

As a smallish nation of solely 10.3 million folks, Greece is already set to beat the nation’s 2019 report of 33.1 million overseas guests, now welcoming greater than 1 million vacationers per week, in keeping with Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias. Inns on fashionable Greek islands are absolutely booked via late September—nicely past the standard season—and superstar recognizing has change into a sport. Photos of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, actress Demi Moore, and rapper 50 Cent are being posted from the bars of Mykonos, the waters of the Ionian Sea, and the yachts of the Cyclades.

However unusual Greeks usually are not basking in Greece’s profitable summer time.

ATHENS—On the southern slopes of the Acropolis, vacationers in flip-flops clamber throughout tough rocks in the hunt for the right Parthenon selfie. Town’s central cafes are crammed. And, down on the port, officers in pristine white uniforms fastidiously direct the automobiles, folks, and bicycles setting sail throughout the Aegean Sea. It is summer time in Athens, and the Greek tourism trade is having an excellent 12 months.

As a smallish nation of solely 10.3 million folks, Greece is already set to beat the nation’s 2019 report of 33.1 million overseas guests, now welcoming greater than 1 million vacationers per week, in keeping with Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias. Inns on fashionable Greek islands are absolutely booked via late September—nicely past the standard season—and superstar recognizing has change into a sport. Photos of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, actress Demi Moore, and rapper 50 Cent are being posted from the bars of Mykonos, the waters of the Ionian Sea, and the yachts of the Cyclades.

However unusual Greeks usually are not basking in Greece’s profitable summer time.

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Her electrical energy payments have risen almost 50 % since earlier than the pandemic. Gas prices in Greece have risen by greater than 23 % this 12 months as a result of ongoing battle in Ukraine and Russian efforts to starve Europe of power. Greece on Russia for about 40 % of its pure gasoline, so it has been hit significantly onerous.

Inflation hit 12 % this summer time, its highest stage in 29 years, in keeping with knowledge launched by Eurostat, the official statistical authority of the European Union. And in a nation the place the minimal wage is 713 euros monthly, greater than 43 % of the labor power cannot afford to take a vacation, in keeping with a survey by the European Commerce Union Institute. Return ferry tickets to an island final 12 months for a household of 4, together with a automobile, value round 600 euros.

This 12 months, it is over 850 euros, in keeping with the Greek Ministry of Delivery and Island Coverage. The most cost effective lodge on the Greek island of Mykonos this week prices not less than 200 euros per evening. That is prohibitive even for many center class Greeks. In complete, a household vacation to a modest island vacation spot would value somebody incomes double the minimal wage a full month’s wage. And that is earlier than accounting for meals, drinks, and restaurant prices.

But Athenians’ largest grievance of all is the rise in lease.

“We in Greece had the massive monetary issues of 2010 to 2016. We recovered. The whole lot went nicely, after which got here COVID, after which the struggle,” mentioned Giorgios Stampoulos, an Athens cab driver for over 22 years. “Now, the vacationers got here again. We’ve got a number of vacationers. … However the issue is we will not afford an condominium as a result of it is all Airbnb for vacationers, and should you discover one thing, they need double or triple from final 12 months.”

Earlier than the pandemic, a modest two-bedroom condominium in central Athens would lease for roughly 300 euros a month. Now, the month-to-month worth is not less than 550 euros. Costs largely have soared as vacationers, expatriates, and digital nomads are taking advantage of the capital’s comparatively low rents and residing prices. “When you have a Western European wage, Athens is an effective base,” mentioned 27-year-old Ben Biasi, a French vacationer strolling via the pedestrian backstreets of Athens’s Plaka neighborhood.

“Let’s go to an island, purchase a home, and work from the home!” he mentioned to his group of associates.

Firms like Airbnb and Reserving.com have been catering to not solely vacationers however these in search of longer-term stays. One such firm is Blueground, which has greater than 1,000 absolutely furnished flats in Athens, rented out to principally US residents for round 1,200 euros monthly.

“Enterprise is a growth! It is good,” mentioned Demetri Geras, 27, from Blueground. “They got here for the solar. It is the Florida of Europe.”

As a Greek-American with household right here, nevertheless, Geras acknowledges the hardships that Greeks are going through. “A lot of the youth right here live with their mother and father. They make lower than 1,000 euros a month, to allow them to’t transfer out.” Though he works in property, Geras sees the issue as an absence of truthful employment alternative and remuneration from employers.

“We are able to level fingers at folks in actual property, but it surely’s nearly felony how a lot [Greeks] receives a commission,” he mentioned. “They’re nearly ravenous. … Wages usually are not so nice on account of austerity measures and low Greek minimal wage. Meals and lease have gone up. Householders have raised their Airbnb costs for foreigners who’re coming to Athens. And Greeks are those paying the worth.”

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Summer season holidays are sacred to Greeks, and most Athenians are inclined to flee the town warmth for holidays on the coast or mountains. Sergio is staying put. “I want to remain right here as a result of I really feel much less pressured. … For us Greeks, it is cheaper to go on a visit exterior Greece than to an island.”

Regardless of the financial hardships, Greeks are nonetheless discovering methods to have a break. Drive alongside the coast from Athens to the traditional Temple of Poseidon, referred to as Sounio, this summer time, and you will discover strains of parked automobiles dotted round rocky swimming holes. The so-called Athenian Riviera is packed.

As metropolis residents search swims nearer to house, Greeks additionally proceed to have a comparatively excessive stage of property possession inside their households, and lots of Greeks are selecting to take breaks at their household houses or with associates who personal property. Others are discovering cheaper alternate options like “free tenting,” taking part in a cat-and-mouse recreation with authorities as they erect tents alongside the coast earlier than being informed to maneuver on or saturating areas the place it’s tolerated, such because the far-flung Greek island of Tilos, which has seen a spike in campers this 12 months.

Others, nonetheless, are going overseas to European locations like Berlin, Sergiou mentioned, as Greece turns into unaffordable.

However amid all of it, a hint of conventional Greek attitudes stays. “Open your Instagram, and also you see everybody splashing about. … Summer season is summer time,” Sergiou mentioned. “Greek folks will go wherever they’ll and face their issues in September.”