Greece promotes smaller islands but locals are unconvinced

National tourism boards promote their most well known destinations during the summer months. Two years of the Pandemic have made people who live full-time in tourist hot spots reconsider whether the pre-pandemic norm of over tourism should return. Some governments took notice.

In order to promote its world-famous tourism sites, the Greece's tourism ministry launched a new strategy.

The tourism minister says the campaign is "Greece: if you come even once, you will want to stay forever".

There are alternative destinations. There are more than 120 inhabited islands. "Yes, of course it's about Mykonos and Santorini and Crete, but there are so many other destinations."

The collapse of the Pandemic has caused Greek tourism to rebound. There were more than 18 million people in Greece in 2011. Visitor numbers last year were more than a third lower than the year before.

It's in line with global trends. Within the first five months of this year, the tourism industry recovered half of its pre-pandemic visitor numbers.

The over-tourism problem that plagued so many of the world's popular places before the Pandemic was due to the country's strategy of spreading tourism numbers across many destinations.

Tinos is one of those destinations. One of the most famous island groups in the country is the Cyclades. Thousands of Christians make an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Church of Pangia Evangelistria of Tinos in August.

In favor of other wildly popular Cyclades destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini, the average tourist ignores the island. Tinos has many of the same attractions as its neighbours: white-washed buildings, sandy beaches and warm waters.

Locals are proud to share their traditions with others.

Tinos has been home to cheesemaker Angela Rouggeri for the last 10 years. The cheese is made in small batches.

She displays her mounds of malathouni outside her workshop. Some of the white cheese she seasons with is a semi-hard type. She makes a blue cheese that matures in pumpkins.

The business was started by Ms Rouggeri and her husband. It was necessary for them to leave the construction industry in order to find a new line of work.

We liked to do that. Since we were children, we knew that we were born into farming families. When I was a little girl, I slept and listened to the milk dripping into the bucket. "We used to make cheese in our homes."

The demand for their cheese has almost doubled what they can produce.

She sells to many places in Tinos. Butcher shops, shops with traditional products and restaurants are what it is. Private citizens buy cheese for themselves when they return to Athens. I do not sell to supermarkets because they want to make more money than we do. They asked me to work with them, but I said no.

Ms Rouggeri has agreed to sell one of the few she's ever done. He runs two restaurants that serve modern Greek food for sharing.

He says that the best thing to do for tourists is to discover the treasures a place has.

I would like to see more tourists on our island. It's hard to keep the traditions if you have a lot of visitors.

This summer's crop of tourists came to the island because of the attraction of discovery.

Tinos is chosen by many from other parts of Greece for its quiet, more secluded, and food friendly reputation.

Stephen, a Canadian tourist, chose to study here for a month to become a lawyer. He invited his mother Nancy for the final part of his stay because he loved it so much.

We've been there a few times. Nancy says that building relationships with people in bakeries and restaurants is important. They always put something in the bakery. They were like "oh the coffee's on us" today.

Tinos and Greece are unique due to the way that they treat people.

It's a Greek word. It can't be translated in another language. He says that travellers fall in love with Greece because of the Greeks' need to host foreigners.

It is tradition that makes Rouggeri's island unique. She isn't in a hurry to export its unique flavours.

Someone will like my cheese when they try it. She says that when he tries it again in Athens, he will think of Tinos.

Business Daily is reporting on tackling over-tourism in Greece.