- A local government decision closed the road, forcing over 6,000 people onto the cable car.
- The queue to return reached three hours at its peak.
- Santorini took over €250,000 in cable car tickets.
- Seabourn crew found passengers and organised transport back to the ship.
- Wratten stated the cruise industry needs to look at port infrastructure.
Clive Wratten CEO of England’s Business Travel Association has shared a tale of Seabourn cruise company’s response to severe overtourism in Santorini, where a local government decision to close the road from the old port forced over 6,000 people onto the cable car. The queue to return to ships reached three hours at its peak, with fights breaking out among frustrated passengers. At an estimated €20 per fare, Santorini will have taken over €250,000 in cable car tickets alone.
Seabourn Cruise Line sent crew into the streets to find passengers, organised a bus to an alternative port, and hired a boat to get people back to the ship. In one case, a crew member found guests sitting in a restaurant and assured them the ship would not leave without them. Wratten praised Seabourn’s crisis response, stating the mark of a great company is how it behaves in a crisis.
Wratten acknowledged he is part of the issue as a cruise passenger but stated travel is something he loves and makes no apology for that. He stated overtourism is not a talking point but Santorini today, and the cruise industry needs to look hard at the infrastructure at its ports of call.
Clive Wratten shared, “Santorini today was a lesson in two things: how bad overtourism can get, and how good real service looks when it matters. The mark of a great company is not how it behaves when things go smoothly, it is how it behaves in a crisis.”
