A typical small, family owned Hotel Resort east of Heraklion probably built in the 1980s
Don’t have GDP numbers for the time when Crete was ruled by the Ottoman (1669 – 1891) but assume they look dismal. For thousands of years, Crete exported high quality wines and olive oil. Their production dropped dramatically after 1669. The Muslim did not consume alcohol (at least not in public) and the Ottoman merchant fleet did not sail to Christian ports. The result was a significant decline in Crete’s population. It is noticeable in the urban development under Turkish rule. The coastal towns shrank and the remaining population easily fitted within the old Venetian town walls.
The Chania Gate in Heraklion was widened for Traffic once there were Cars on the Island
When Crete finally joined mainland Greece in 1913, everybody hoped for better times. Greece was part of the Latin Currency Union with France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland which ensured stable exchange rates – a good start for revitalizing the island’s exports.
The allied Front crossed Northern Greece frow the Adriatic to the Aegean Sea
Such efforts had barely started when the First World War broke out. Greece tried to stay neutral but events on its northern border pushed into the allied camp (France, England and Russia). With the war, European borders closed. Markets shut down. In every nation, resources were channeled into the war effort. Consumption was restricted. The hopes for Crete's recovery were delayed once more. In addition, all able men aged 18 to 30 were drafted – there was nobody left to tend the vineyards and olive orchard.
All Muslim Greeks (called Cretan Turks) were expelled in the "Population Exchange" in 1923
But for Greece, the First World War did not stop with the armistice in Nov 1918. Sadly, that date was the opening shot for the Turco-Greek war which ended in summer 1922 with a crushing defeat. The horrible "population exchange" {= ethnic cleansing) followed. The Greek speaking Muslims, most of them living in the towns on Crete’s north coast, were evicted and re-settled around Bodrum and the Marmara Sea. With one sweep, the island had lost its merchant class – most of them had decades earlier converted to Islam. The absence of skilled merchants did not make the reconstruction of the island any easier.
View of Heraklion just after 1913 - precise Date of the Photo unknown
From 1923 – 1929, these few years when New York and Berlin lived the “Roaring Twenties”, restored a sense of hope in Crete. But this hope was destroyed by the stock market crash in 1929, the following Great Depression and then World War II. When the war was over in 1945, the Cretans wondered what had happen to their old dream. Not only their island, but all of Europe was in ruins. Even worse, the cold war cut Greece off from the land route to Western Europe. Anybody who visited Greece had to take the train down the Italian peninsula, board a ferry in Brindisi to Patras, then take the small gauge train to Athens. A scenic way to travel but 48 h one way is a long time. I did this in 1974 – loved but would not recommend it for a family with children.
A Boeing 737 of Olympic Airways which went bankrupt in Sept 2009
The arrival of the Boeing 737 and DC-9 in the early 1970 changed everything – as it did on the Baleares and in Antalya. Olympic Airways – now a name in history only – offered package holidays with direct flights to Crete. The number of tourists began to increase. In the 1990s, 85% of tourists arrived in groups organized by tour operators. Germans (32%), Scandinavians (20%) and the English (12%) dominated. The Greek planning law from 1982 allowed the quick construction of affordable – and not so stylish – hotels on the flat northern beaches. Thanks to NATO, airports like Chania and Heraklion had long runways for jets. By 2020, around 6.6 million tourists arrived from mostly Europe.
Heraklion "exploded" after the 1970s - View over the Martinengo Bastion to the Suburbs
Tourism is important for Greece. Nationwide it contributes 13% to GDP. For Crete, the share is double with 26%. The hospitality industry employs 40’000 people. Rumors have it that there is the same number of open positions. Not surprisingly, the total population in Crete exploded from 411’543 in 1975 to around 630’000 in 2020. The island totally depends on tourism. Europe's Covid policies and lockdowns were thus very painful. In 1980, the island had only 29’314 bedrooms in 342 hotels. 40 years later, there are 1'640 hotels with 193’928 bedrooms. The growth has been stellar indeed. The latest trend are "up end" resorts where tourists never leave - at least they are done in style and beauty.
A stylish and modern 5-Star Resort close to Rethymnon on Crete's northern Coast
The island paid a price for this fast growth. A full third of Crete’s population now lives in and around Heraklion. A fascinating town once you are inside the Venetian Walls – otherwise an unremarkable concrete blob which you can find in many other parts of the Mediterranean.
The MYTHOS Villas in Southern Crete offer Agro Tourism for interested Visitors
There are now many efforts by the Greek government and the EU to introduce a softer and more sustainable form of tourism. With a certain degree of success on the island's hills and mountains, where mass tourism has not taken a big toll yet. But how the beaches plastered with cheap hotels shall recover is beyond me.
For the Time being we will have to accept Beer and Beach in Crete
Clearly, the island now depends more on tourism than on wine and olive oil in the past. It is to hope that new developments are done more eco-friendly and more sustainable. There is incredible beauty in Crete – have such wonderful memories from my hike along the empty south-shores in 1982. I hope it is not all gone.
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