Tourist Season: End of Term Report

As regular readers will know, every month our Spotlight page focuses on an aspect of life on Crete in some detail. And whilst we do not set out to be a Tourist Guide, tourism, is of course an integral part of life here. It seemed timely, then to provide an ’End of Term’ report on the season as we see it (we make no claims to be objective!). Once again, our editor finds when writing her spotlight piece that the issue to be tackled is more complex than it appeared in the first instance…. So — here are just a few snapshots from our holiday scrapbook (OK, enough of the clichés). The general view of local business owners we have spoken to is that summer 2008 was not a great season (for hard facts, we will have to wait until the end of the year of course). Several reasons have been cited for this — the hike in fuel prices and the global effects of the Wall Street melt down clearly didn’t help, and the collapse of the travel firm XL sent cold shivers around town; many people also point the finger at the increase in ’all-inclusive’ holiday packages - tourists spending less time out in town and spending less money….This may be part of the problem, but it is not the whole story.

As a tourist destination, Crete has plenty to offer - and some of Crete’s attractions are unique: the archaeological sites, the stunning landscape and the architectural heritage of towns such as Rethymnon and Hania. However, it is also clear that some of Crete’s attractions are to be found in many other parts of the Mediterranean (for example: sun, sea, sand and the other ’s’ thing). Some tourists just want all the ’s’ attractions, and aren’t particularly bothered where they get them from (thinking about this might actually be the subject of another article in a different type of publication, but there you go). Over the last 20 years there has been a huge rise in tourism to the region, it is true, but there has also been an exponential rise in the numbers of hotels, tavernas, cafés and shops etc vying for trade. The quality of services provided to visitors varies widely from place to place, and over the years tourists have become more demanding about the nature of services they require. You’re starting to get the general drift….

Family Fun

Despite the above, it really isn’t all doom and gloom. Rethymnon shines as a resort for couples and families (and thankfully, it has never set out to be a magnet for the 18-30 ‘Clubbing crowd’). Well, like many ex-pats, we are used to entertaining adult visitors out here on Crete. However, for one reason or another, up until recently we haven't had the opportunity to test out the ‘Child Friendly’ stereotype that is automatically stamped on Mediterranean resorts. Happily, though, this all changed when our friend Alison and her son Sam — nearly nine at the time — came out to see us in July for two weeks. To cut a long story short, the feedback we received from the visit was as follows:

Sam enjoyed being in Rethymnon and thought the beach was great, but wouldn’t have wanted to spend the whole of his holiday just sunbathing and swimming…. So what to do? We tried out a Water Park near Hersonnisos (this might have been because we’d always wanted to go there but had never had a justifiable excuse before). It was fine, and we all had great fun but for younger children it is a long drive (about an hour and a half from Rethymnon, and it’s not exactly cheap either). Closer to home, you will find attractions such as donkey sanctuaries, aquariums, interactive ‘eco museums’ and ostrich farms — all of which we want to visit too (for those of you seeking to introduce your primary school age children to the glories of Greek archaeology by taking them to Knossos at midday in July we have a few words to say, one of which is ‘Titanic’). But you may find that there isn’t any need to organize dedicated child oriented entertainment at all. Quite the reverse, in fact. Sam’s curiosity and interest in Rethymnon helped to give us a fresh perspective on our home town. Some of the things he particularly liked were: Restaurants – everyone treated him like a king, and the chips in one place were said to be ‘Just Heaven’ (high praise indeed!); snorkelling on the South Coast (OK another beach BUT THE FISH WERE DIFFERENT); a wooden toy bought for three euros from a street seller which made the Gameboy redundant and taking pictures here, there and everywhere with his disposable camera. We hope to see Alison and Sam back here very soon!

The Final Marks

Well, the final marks we awarded to Rethymnon as a tourist destination are 96.5%. The 0.5% was lost for the price of coffee in cafés, (get a grip, it’s cheaper in Venice!) and the other 4% was for manners. A totally impartial decision, as I am sure you will understand. Despite Pashmina’s original intention to write a hard nosed ‘Take no prisoners and clean up the graffiti if you want people to come back here again’ type feature (and the graffiti really does need attention), she came to the conclusion that on balance, Rethymnon is a fantastic holiday destination. So that does it for any serious journalistic credentials….