Greek Tourism Slump Threatens a Decade of Hard-Won Gains

If tourism is a wipeout this year, some economists say, the economic and financial gains born of years of austerity and three international bailouts may unravel.

An employee makes repairs at a closed hotel in Fira, Santorini, Greece, on May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

ATHENS—About now, Charlie Chahine should be welcoming his first international guests of the season to his Suites of the Gods resort on Santorini, Greece’s most popular holiday island.

A few of his staff of 30 would be serving poolside cocktails as guests drink in the island’s famous sunset, his hotel becoming a little busier every day as summer approaches, bringing 2 million visitors to Santorini’s cliff-edged shores.