Markos Chaidemenos grew up near the sunny cliffs of Santorini, where he helped to run his parents’ hotel, Canaves Oia. “I used to work the afternoon shift, go out at night, come back to take a shower and then go straight to the morning shift,” he tells Monocle. He took over the family business in 2010 and turned it into the Canaves Collection, a luxury-resort brand comprising five properties across Santorini. Despite having plans to expand across the Cyclades, the second-generation hotelier is keen to ensure that the enterprise serves locals and enhances the character of the islands. 

Chaidemenos has seen the island change rapidly over the past 20 years. But unlike many critics, who say that Santorini has become overcrowded and touristy, his love for his home island has never diminished. “Santorini is beautiful, which is what attracts people and makes parts of it busy,” says Chaidemenos. “But it’s unfair to say that Santorini is a tourist trap. It’s much more than that.”

The Canaves Collection also consists of 250 staff residences. “This has not only improved the quality of life of our employees but also helped to take care of the local community as it avoids taking housing from permanent residents,” says Chaidemenos. But he’s not the only one taking action to protect Santorini’s resources: the Greek government is currently implementing policies to curb overtourism and preserve traditional architecture on the island.

The daily influx of cruise-ship tourists has recently been capped at 8,000 visitors, while permits have also been put in place to favour the renovation of existing structures over new buildings. For Chaidemenos, these are signs that the mentality on Santorini has changed. “As a local, these new decrees and ways of doing things are music to my ears,” he says. Working closely with the municipality, he hopes to encourage a slower form of tourism that’s more appreciative of the location’s many layers. “Santorini is more than just blue-domed churches and cliffs,” he says. “It can be as much of an off-the-beaten-path destination as any other Greek island.”
canaves.com