Santorini introduces restrictions as volcanic activity is monitored

The Greek authorities have put in place new Civil Protection measures for Santorini, following the recommendations of scientific committees monitoring the seismic and volcanic risk, following the recent extraordinary meeting of the Standing Scientific Committee for Seismic Risk Assessment and Seismic Risk Reduction.

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The measures mainly concern the control of access and stay in specific areas due to possible geological phenomena and will be in force until 31 March 2027.

The main provisions have to do with the control of traffic in the main port of Santorini in order to avoid overcrowding and to reduce the time vehicles spend on the port for safety reasons.

At the same time, the authorities have issued a map with a prohibition to stay in specific areas of the island located in high risk areas in case of earthquake tremors due to the volcano.

The authorities point out that the measures may be changed or suspended immediately if strong natural phenomena such as earthquakes or extreme weather events occur and subject to a new assessment by the competent committees.

The news is a fresh blow to tourism on the island, which accounts for some 10% of visitors to Greece overall.

Last year, tourist numbers fell dramatically in the summer months as a result of near-constant quakes felt nearby. Restrictions at the time included schools being shut and residents being prohibited from accessing seaside areas.

“Protecting both permanent residents and seasonal tourists is the government’s primary focus as the summer season gets underway,” Vassilis Kikilias, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of Greece, said.

What are the new restrictions?

The Santorini Caldera is encircled by the cliffside villages of Oia, Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Akrotiri – all overlooking the picturesque Aegean Sea and the Volcano on Santorini.

For a closer look, visitors are known to take hiking tours up to Nea Kameni to see volcanic activity.

Now with recent restrictions, at Athinios Port and its surrounding road network, traffic controls have been implemented to reduce congestion during ship arrivals and departures, Greek City Times reported.

A restricted zone has also been introduced at the Old Port of Fira and surrounding upper areas, prohibiting visitors from entering, while no restrictions have been put in place on the cable car and the Fira–Old Port path.

Authorities have also introduced a vehicle circulation ban in Ammoudi at the municipal road to the port from the Oia ring road junction, with the exception of a limited number of passenger vehicles managed by the Municipality of Thira, which supports visitor transport.

Access to the Ammoudi to Agios Nikolaos hiking route is no longer permitted.

Due to the Greek island’s complex proximity to seismic risks and volcanic activity, these restrictive measures could remain in effect until at least 31 March 2027.

An island with a history of eruptions

During last year’s “Santorini swarm” of earthquakes, airline seats dropped by 26% from January to June 2025, according to the president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Yannis Paraschis.

Speaking to Euronews at the time, the president of the Santorini hoteliers, Antonis Pagoni, highlighted the importance of Santorini tourist traffic on the wider Greek economy.

“Overall arrivals will be down about 20%-25%. Right now we are moving at -25% to -30%,” he said at the time.

“It’s a huge reduction in a destination like Santorini that attracts more than 3 million visitors. You know, it’s 10% of Greek tourism. We are not sure if Greece can afford to lose that revenue.”

The popular destination, which welcomes millions of tourists annually, is an archipelago which includes the Thira, Thirassia, Aspronissi, Palea and Nea Kameni islands located 128 nautical miles southeast of mainland Greece. Historically, Santorini was called Strongili, which means “the round one,” as it was one, large ring island encircling a caldera, which forms when a volcano collapses.

In 1600, BCE, the once unified island fragmented after the Minoan volcanic eruption – one of the most powerful recorded in history. As time passed, other smaller eruptions created the fragments which shaped the archipelago and created the volcanic islands of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni.

In 1956, an earthquake off the coast of Amorgos, some 50 kilometres away, and its aftershocks killed 53 people and injured 100. Around 35% of the island’s buildings collapsed, with 45% of buildings suffering at least minor damage, reports the Greek Herald.