Tourists on Greek island replaced by volunteers amid refugee crisis

A year since the refugee crisis worsened, the Greek Aegean Sea island of Lesvos is divided under the influence of the massive refugee flow on the local tourism industry, according to tour operators and other representatives.

As the tourism season is coming, the capital of Lesvos, Mytilene and the little villages around her, are full of different kind of visitors compared to the past years.

With more than half a million refugees and migrants having reached the islands' shores since early 2015 from Turkey to continue their journey to northern Europe, hotel rooms and restaurants are currently packed with officers of the European border control agency FRONTEX, policemen, and members of NGOs.

Meanwhile the traditional picturesque villages in the northern side of the island (such as Molyvos and Petra) which are among the most popular tourist destinations of Greeks and foreigners for decades, recorded fall of charter arrivals, tour operators told Xinhua in recent interviews.

Between February and April 2016, about 1,800 volunteers and 57 NGOs have registered in Mytilene, in order to get a volunteer card from the General Secretary of Aegean, while 200 experts and officers have arrived to assist in the registration of refugees and migrants at the Moria hot spot, according to official data from local authorities.

From July 2015 to February 2016 Mytilene's hotels and rooms to let were full mainly of NGO volunteers from across the world, the President of Lesvos travel agents' union Yiannis Samiotis told Xinhua.

Nevertheless, since March 20, when the deal between the EU and Turkey for the return of people not eligible for asylum in Greece back to Turkey came into force, most employees and workers of NGOs have left the island, as incoming refugees are now mostly accommodated in closed reception centers run by the Greek state, Samiotis noted.

"Thereafter, FRONTEX's officers and police officers throughout Europe replaced members of NGOs. Every hotel in Mytilene this April is full," he said.

Samiotis -- and other tourism sector entrepreneurs he represents -- are not excited about this image.

The FRONTEX officers and NGO volunteers are temporary guests, while there are thousands of tourists who have chosen to spend their holidays repeatedly in Lesvos for several years.

Hoteliers fear that if their long time clients will not find what they are looking for in Lesvos this tourism season, they may not return in coming years.

In June 2015, when the number of boats carrying refugees to Lesvos was still under a dozen a day and the situation was manageable, a high of 11 years was recorded in arrivals of charter flights to the island from across Europe, according to statistics by the Mytilene airport.

In June 2015 a total of 15,026 tourists from 12 European countries reached Lesvos via 111 charter flights. In June 2014 there were 14,215 visitors from 13 countries on 107 charter flights.

Samiotis expressed concern about cancellations from tourists this year. Traditionally April is the first month of the tourism season during which Lesvos welcomes tourists in particular from neighboring Turkey. According to the travel agent's union data, tourists will not easily find a place to stay this spring.

"The tourism in Mytilene at this time of year reminds us about summer reservations and high-seasons," said Periklis Antoniou, president of the Lesvos Hoteliers' Association, who admitted that the situation is different at the other sides of the island.

Nikos Molvalis, president of "Molyvos guide," a local administration body promoting tourism, told Xinhua that by September 2015, once the tragic images of refugees landing on Lesvos' coasts travelled worldwide, the local tourism industry suffered a major blow by cancellations of flights and hotel reservations.

"We are not against refugees or migrants, but the tourism of the island has suffered because of the crisis. Several charter flights are cancelled and there are few reservations at the hotels of villages in the north," Molvalis said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning Lesvos counted 42 refugee arrivals, while the Detention Center of Moria and the camp of Kara Tepe already host 3,644 refugees and migrants, according to the latest figures released by the Coast Guard.

Source:Xinhua