Chios is not a very developed tourist destination and as it seems, this was not a priority for the island. Tourism was for most a supplementary job and the “scepters” of the economy were – and still are – shipping and agricultural production.

However, in recent years, things on the island have started to change and tourism development is shaped by new data, as Kostas Verginas, Deputy Mayor of Tourism and Shipping of Chios, explains speaking to the Athenian and Macedonian News Agency.

The tourist traffic on the island in 2022 was increased compared to 2019. This year, as the deputy mayor points out, the island has too many people, more than last year. “I think it is very difficult to book a holiday in Chios at the moment as July and August are sold out already in May.

Bookings are also extended through September and early October and this is something that is happening for the first time. In addition, for the first time this year the big hotels did not close after Easter, whereas they usually close for a while and reopen with the start of the summer season. This happened of course because we had people”, notes Mr. Verginas.

The island of Chios has a total of approximately 5,000 beds in hotels and accommodation licensed by the EOT. This is also the reason why it is difficult to find a room in the “hot” summer months.

Chios is a destination that attracts many people throughout the year. In winter, the island’s visitors are Greeks and Turks. “We have no more tourism from abroad. But we have repeaters – mainly French and Swiss – who have bought houses in villages and come even in the winter”, Mr. Verginas points out.

“What we lack are beds, to be able to cover the world, as the demand is huge,” he adds. “In the summer, only small aircraft come because our airport is small. However, they come either by charter flights or via another destination. This year we have a charter from the Czech Republic, which stops at Lemnos and then continues to Chios, while Aegean has greatly improved the flight responses from both Germany and France, so we have a lot of French and Germans coming through Athens. The new airport will be ready in 2024-2025. Agents are already ready and waiting. There is interest but in the meantime we have to make beds. On the other hand, investment interest is currently reduced. Of course, some small hotel units are being built, but it is not enough”, emphasizes the Deputy Mayor of Tourism.

As he explains, most Chios are usually involved in tourism as a secondary business activity and this may have been the reason that held the island back in terms of tourism. “I appreciate that with the effort that is being made now, especially on the part of the local government, that it has become clear to the professionals that tourism must work with more seriousness. So the investments are also directed in this direction, the new businesses work in a much better way, the quality of the services provided has improved much more and continues to improve.

Chios

Since the coronavirus, we have focused on decentralization, on nature, and because Chios has a rich natural environment, the island’s brand now focuses on it. Chios has natural beauty, beaches, forests, agricultural production dominated by mastic, the Chios mandarin (which is a PDO product), the thrompa olive, Chios roses, etc. It has many products and flavors, for this the protagonist in recent years is gastronomy and we are working on the field of strengthening entrepreneurship and the development of the primary sector but also with the promotion and visibility of our products around the world.

As Pantelis Legatos, president of the Chamber of Chios points out, on the occasion of a recent promotion and presentation of the island’s products in Athens, where 21 companies participated, the “Aroma of Chios” is a holistic approach to Chios.

“The bet for us is how we will actually get on the tourist map. Chios is the unknown aristocracy of the Aegean and for connoisseurs it is a paradise” as Elytis says “my ideas, underlines Mr. Legatos.

“In Chios, the first strength is shipping, the second pillar is agricultural production and mastic. The numbers from the mastic are huge. In fact, a research center was recently created where research programs are carried out on the use of mastic, which, in addition to cosmetics, is now also included in pharmaceutical preparations”, says the Deputy Mayor of Tourism, stressing that there are countries that ask to import mastic but the island does not can meet their needs.

As Mr. Legatos underlines, Chios mastic is known internationally. It is produced only in the southern part of the island and is unique in the world. The production reaches 250 tons per year and is exhausted. The new Research Center brings scientists from all over the world to the island and gives an extra “plus” to the promotion of Chios.