Greece has been one of the hottest tourism destinations this summer, and the number of visitors to the country is expected to surpass pre-pandemic records set in 2019.

A mere visit to a popular island or stroll through Athens is all it takes for one to experience the surge in tourism that has hit the country this year.

Stathis Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations, joined the Hellenic American Leadership Council and Katherimini’s daily podcast, The Greek Current, to discuss the issue of over-tourism in Greece.

During the 15-minute episode, Kalyvas and host Thanos Davelis discuss how the surge in visitors is dramatically changing Greece’s landscape. The two grapple with the question of whether or not this development is making “Greek summer,” an essential part of the country’s collective identity, out of reach for many Greeks.

Kalyvas authored a recent opinion piece in Kathimerini entitled “A Summerless Greece?” where he wrote that the country has already embarked on a “irreversible path.”

Click here to listen to the full podcast episode, “Is the surge in tourism leading to a ‘summerless’ Greece?”

Featured image: Angelo Tzortzinis via Deutsche Welle