Santorini Seeks to Extend Tourism Season Beyond Summer

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Santorini continues to attract travellers from around the world as the island seeks to extend its tourism season beyond the traditional summer months through culture, gastronomy, geology and history.

The volcanic island hosted the annual Volcanoes 2026 cultural celebrations over the weekend, with the Municipality of Thira staging the spectacular re-enactment of the volcanic eruption on Saturday. The programme concluded on Sunday with a major concert by Greek singer Giorgos Dalaras.

Tourism has so far remained at satisfactory levels during the current season, which runs through October, according to Thira Mayor Nikos Zorzos. Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, Zorzos said visitor numbers had not declined compared with last year.

He said, however, that the environment in which the destination operates had changed, with more accommodation available, changes in travellers’ spending power and shifts in source markets and travel preferences.

“It is multifactorial,” Zorzos said, pointing to geopolitical developments, economic conditions and the negative image that a series of reports had created around Santorini in previous years.

The current picture, he said, does not indicate falling demand but rather a tourism market undergoing changes and shifting its balance.

Greater accommodation supply

Santorini now has approximately 17,000 to 18,000 hotel beds, with the number continuing to grow. Holiday homes and short-term rental properties add further capacity, although no precise overall figure exists for that segment.

“We now have greater supply than demand,” Zorzos said, while also calling for greater regulation of short-term rentals.

The mayor also noted a decline in average visitor spending, which he considers part of a broader trend affecting other Greek destinations.

At the same time, he described the island’s tourism services as being of a particularly high standard.

“Santorini has developed the characteristics of a high-level destination over many years, particularly in the private sector,” he said, while acknowledging the need for further improvements in public spaces.

He also highlighted gastronomy as an important part of Santorini’s tourism identity. In 2013, the island designated the year as the “Year of Gastronomy”, an initiative that he said helped promote local products and Santorini’s culinary identity.

Santorini targets year-round tourism

Extending the tourism season remains one of the municipality’s key objectives.

Zorzos recalled an effort in 2015 to establish Santorini as a year-round destination by strengthening winter air connections. Flights at the time recorded high occupancy, attracting visitors from Asia as well as European countries and the United States.

Today, however, air connectivity with Athens is more limited than in the past, while the island has also seen a reduced presence from some markets, including Asia.

“We are now making a continuous promotional effort,” Zorzos said.

The municipality aims to strengthen Santorini’s presence not only in its traditional European and American markets but also in new destinations.

South Korea and Japan are among the targets, although the lack of direct air connections remains an obstacle, according to the mayor. The municipality is also looking towards markets in Latin America.

Beyond high-spending tourists

Santorini’s promotional strategy does not focus exclusively on visitors with high spending power.

“Of course we want them too, but we also want people who have particular interests,” Zorzos said, referring to culture, gastronomy and geology.

The municipality wants to attract visitors who travel to Santorini for specific reasons: geologists interested in its volcanic landscape, archaeology students, and travellers interested in the island’s history, architecture or gastronomy.

Such visitors can also travel outside the peak summer period, helping extend the tourism season.

“This year we allocated much more money to promotion, focusing mainly on two things: the environment, which is unique and which we are investing in by protecting it, and culture,” Zorzos said.

Geological museum and Ancient Thira projects

The municipality is also advancing several cultural projects as part of the strategy.

According to Zorzos, preparations are under way to tender a geological museum. The municipality is also promoting a project to establish a documentation centre for the history of Thirassia, with an exhibition space, a small conference facility and an amphitheatre for summer schools.

Plans also include a children’s centre in Oia.

Meanwhile, in cooperation with the Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, authorities have completed the documentation required for the reconstruction of the ancient theatre at Ancient Thira.

“Santorini has the greatest density of monuments, from the Early Bronze Age through to modern times, in relation to its size,” Zorzos said.

He stressed that successive civilisations had developed on the island from prehistoric times through to the modern era.

More housing for workers

The increase in available accommodation has also created better conditions for private- and public-sector workers seeking housing on the island, according to the mayor.

Zorzos recalled the pressure the municipality once faced when trying to find accommodation for teachers arriving on Santorini.

In 2017, he said, two municipal employees spent their time making telephone calls and searching for housing for teachers.

“This year we did not receive a single call,” he said, attributing the change to the greater availability of housing.

He also renewed his proposal to use public land through an agreement between the municipality and the state to develop housing for people working on Santorini.

Volcanoes celebrations strengthen September tourism

The Volcanoes celebrations have formed part of Santorini’s cultural identity since 1991 and have developed into one of the island’s signature events.

The main event took place on Saturday, September 19, featuring a dramatic re-enactment of the volcanic eruption, drones and fireworks.

The two-day programme concluded on Sunday evening, September 20, with a concert by Giorgos Dalaras in the grounds of Santo Wines in Pyrgos.

The Municipality of Thira organised the free concert, which focused on rebetiko and featured Marianna Katsimicha and Aspasia Stratigou.

The concert brought this year’s Volcanoes 2026 celebrations to a close while linking the major event with the island’s contemporary cultural activity.

The municipality has now moved the Volcanoes celebrations to the third Saturday of September, creating a fixed date that residents and visitors can plan around in advance.

Zorzos believes the event strengthens tourism in September, noting that some visitors travel to Santorini specifically because of the celebrations.

He considers September an important month for the destination and sees extending the season as closely linked to Santorini’s ability to offer experiences beyond the traditional summer tourism model.

With its volcanic landscape, history, archaeology, gastronomy, geology and contemporary cultural activity, Santorini is seeking to broaden its tourism identity, attract different types of visitors and extend tourism across more months of the year.

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