Palos: Where the ship turns into a survivor trial

Due to the lack of a floating platform and the incapacity of ships, those who decide to visit the Palos Lagoon in Crete face both comical and tragic situations. To approach land given shallow water.

A visitor, whose children came with their guests from the US and visited the area last week said: “The situation of embarking and disembarking a large ship with 800-900 passengers in Palo is unacceptable. People have to walk in neck-deep water to reach the shore of the sea. It’s impossible for old people to do that.”

According to his testimony, most of the visitors preferred to stay on board that day out of fear. Only about 40 people came down and all returned angry and disappointed.

Due to the lack of a floating platform and shallow water, some are forced to resort to traditional methods such as using ropes to disembark passengers. Tourists are facing these harsh conditions as the floating platform was promised but has not materialized yet.

This situation raises questions about the priorities of local authorities and relevant ministries. Although studies show that 2,900 visitors per day carry the area, instead of reducing the arrival from the sea, the authorities seem to be looking for ways to facilitate it.

The protection of natural monuments such as the National Park of Palos, Elafonisi and Samaria is essential for the development of the environment and tourism of Western Crete. However, the excessive approach of mass tourism threatens their uniqueness and endangers their ecological value.

It is essential to find balanced solutions that ensure the protection of these natural treasures without sacrificing the quality of the visitor experience.

The situation in Palos is a typical example of the phenomenon of hypertourism, where the mass influx of visitors exceeds the carrying capacity of the destination, creates infrastructure problems and threatens the ecological balance.

Inadequate management of tourists and lack of necessary infrastructure, such as floating platforms, worsens the visitor experience and jeopardizes the authenticity of the area.

With an emphasis on protecting the natural environment and improving tourism infrastructure, it is imperative that immediate action is taken to further tourism to ensure the preservation of the unique beauty of Palos from generation to generation.

With information from zarpanews.gr and e-kissamos