Symi: A boom in tourism

In Symi, one can characterise the tourist season using the common phrase "the island sank under their weight". In particular, according to the Mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas, the demand for rooms in August was 40% higher than what the island can cater for!

It is understood that all hotels were in almost 100% capacity. Even now, capacity is almost at the same level. As Mr Papakaloudoukas pointed out, even these days the empty rooms are very few.

At the same time, there has been a huge increase in yacht-traffic. There have been many days when about 30-40 yachts were anchored outside the harbour waiting for an empty space to moor. Just the day before yesterday there were about 70 yachts mooring in the island. Compared to last year, the number of yachts approaching the island has increased by 20%. Mr Papakalodoukas attributes the big increase in tourim this year to the unprecendented publicity that the island has enjoyed from the mass media and the TV serials that were shot there. The same, he said, is expected to also happen this year, with the broadcast of the serial "Joanna of the Heart" which will put Symi in thousands of Greek households every week.

Next year the floating marina will be ready with 67 extra places for yachts, as well as the pier in Panormitis which will be 125 metres long with the capacity for about 60 more yachts.

Within the year, the marina in Pedi will also be completed with another 120 yacht spaces which will be operational in the summer of 2008, bringing the total yacht space capacity for the island to 300.