Plakias in slow decline

[We live in Plakias]

It is sad to say that the best days of Plakias as a tourist destination are in the past. Businesses have closed this year and it is likely that more will follow next year. Whilst the number of visitors to Plakias may have stayed the same, the amount they spend has gone down. The Russian and Eastern European tourists have helped to keep the numbers up but their budget is very small and too many of them lack politeness. So stores such as Forum take out all the quality stuff and fill the shelves with the tacky stuff because this is what now sells.

Different nationalities come at different times of year so it is still possible to come to Plakias and think that it is the same as ever. But it isn't. All very sad.

[Yvonne]

Sad to say, but we agree. Its lost its magic for us.
Yvonne

[Arnaki]

Topics like this can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.  I appreciate that "We live in Plakias" will see the village all year round, and therefore you are in a position to see the ups and downs, and maybe you have a business which is suffering.  Last year we visited in early July and late August and were surprised how relatively quiet July was.  August was busy.  This year visited in late August, which certainly did seem quieter than the previous August, and the last week in October, which was indeed extremely quiet.  However we were told that the businesses had done well this year, and there had been a very good September and October.

I like the laid-back feel of Plakias, and it still has that.  It still has the lovely beach, beautiful surroundings, friendly people and many good tavernas.  Sadly some businesses will fail.  It is the same in many other countries. 

I think we should be promoting Plakias for its many good aspects.  Otherwise it will become like that empty taverna that people walk past to get to a busier one.  No matter how good your offering is, if your taverna is empty, you find it difficult to attract custom, which in turn means it is difficult to attract custom - and so on.

I am keeping my faith in Plakias and have booked for August 2014.

Arnaki

[Barny]

   'We live in Plakias'   Do you want to identify yourselves a bit more?

                      Barny.

[triton]

It's a shame you feel this way about Plakias------ You can always move or visit elsewhere !
We think it and the surrounding area is fantastic and will be back next year.

[John R]

Yes Plakias changes - it is not a museum but a living community admittedly with a strong tourist bias. We have seen changes some we like better than others but it still wholly satisfies us in as many ways - indeed more - than when we first came 15 or so years back. We have many friends including some locals who we think of as true friends and I know that is reciprocated and of course long standing tourist friends who like us return every year. The climate is good, the scenery is brilliant, the position re striding out to places further afar is superb, the food is brilliant with choices for all tastes etc etc. And of course there are superb beaches - even if we ourselves don't use them. I do not sense any terminal decline and any suggestion of that can damage the place - which like most other places is struggling a bit in the current economic climate. We have absolutely never considered not visiting the place at least once a year regardless of what other holiday options may materialise.

[Daniel]

We will go along with those thoughts, John.

We have seen many Greek resorts change over the very many years we have been visiting there.
When they changed too much for our taste, then we moved on.

But Plakias has not reach that stage for us.
And not by quite some way !!
Crete is still our island of choice and Plakias our resort of choice.

Yes, the mix of nationalities has altered and moved more towards the eastern European countries.
A good thing or not ?
We all have our own opinions on that (but not control of it)

Are we alone in thinking that it is good to be in a resort where the majority of voices which you hear are NOT British ?

And the town will come to terms with those changes of nationality and move on.

A few "cosmetic" changes have been made of late and not all of them are for the better but the spirit of the place remains alive and kicking.

We shall be back again in early June with George at Creta Mare and look forward to renewing old friendships.

[JackieatUrbanAgenda]

It has taken me a few days to think about what my reply might be to this thread. Everything changes....especially when there are national issues to be dealt with on top of local pressures. I can only compare my 25 year love of Plakias with a lifetime love of places like Polperro and Mevagissey in Cornwall and my home town of Littlehampton which are also popular tourist 'villages'....they too have grown and changed, declined and grown again. Everything goes in circles. Throughout it is the people that matter - those who live there, those who visit and those who love the village.

I work in a sector that takes the threats of changing climates very seriously. It has a knock on impact on all sorts of things but the solution is to change and adapt. For the first time this topic came up in conversation in Plakias this year as some physical changes have also been noticed. Even so, the overall attitude seemed to be 'we'll deal with it...we'll cope'.

Things will change but that isn't going to put off those who choose to return year after year. We were there in Sept and saw a few changes but that has always been the case....some of our favourite tavernas and shops have closed over the years and friends have moved on but we've found others. It would take a very serious change to put us off....so we've already booked for Sept next year.

I cant help thinking that the beautiful landscape around Plakias has taken hundreds of thousands of years to mould, the lifestyle (in some cases) hasn't changed even though the influences of modern living has (but even then it is mostly new technology...I remember the black and white TV in the town square with the aerial that needed twitching when the screen went fuzzy.....now just look at the raft of dishes !).

At the risk of sounding rude, it might be worth taking a look at what you have there.......living in the middle of a cold, wet modern city I can assure you I know where I'd rather be..change or no change !

[ian s]

We too have been going for around 25 years and agree there have been changes but not too drastic I'm pleased to say.  In the early days there were more backpackers and fewer tourists had cars to run around in.  Also no brollies on the beaches.
The walk to Souda in these days took some effort - dirt track which led much further up the hill before heading back down again.  And scrambling round the rocks at the far end of Damnoni to get out of the wind.
Those were the days but it hasn't changed enough to stop me going back next June.

[Richard]

We are relative 'newbies', first (accidental) visit in '94 and first lengthy visit in '95.

Plakias does not seem to have changed that much since my first visit, in some ways at least; perhaps the major changes occurred early(ish) on and then changes have been incremental since then? What do people think?

I remember the coastal road as a track, for example. We walk to Souda at least as often a Paligremnos, when staying at Skinos, as a result.

I do miss the little cake / pastry shop on the corner opposite Ostraco. Seems to have closed for good.

Richard

[We live in Plakias]

Because last winter was mild and dry the olive harvest has failed. Normally at this time of year the taverna owners shut up shop and go and collect the harvest along with the waiters they employ. But not this year. No harvest means no employment for the coming winter. No employment means no money. Both ex-pats and locals are suffering. Because of this for the first time ever we are being advised to keep everything under lock and key. There is a simmering anger at the government. On the surface things may seem the same as ever but they are not.

[happyashellas]

The olive harvest in Crete has declined by 80% this year, attributed to unrelenting strong winds in the spring, and this has an adverse effect on the whole island, not just Plakias. Given the present political climate in Greece it perhaps isn't surprising that more negative feelings may be brought into the open now the tourists have all gone for the year. All resorts and villages depending on tourism have to adapt and change to some extent, or fail. We love to remember the old days with no air conditioning and no windows in any bathroom, just a bit of wire  mesh crudely stuck in place. If these apartments were still the same there isn't a tourist operator that would touch them. I think time moves on relentlessly and it's us who fail to keep up. Plakias was fantastic in October, the people as welcoming as ever, and where else apart from Crete can you walk along the coast and watch an eagle soaring above and have beautiful surrounding countryside? The latter will hopefully never change, and therefore I fail to see any problems for Plakias.

[We live in Plakias]

and where else apart from Crete can you walk along the coast and watch an eagle soaring above and have beautiful surrounding countryside? The latter will hopefully never change, and therefore I fail to see any problems for Plakias.

Sorry happyashellas to burst your rose tinted view of Crete but the beautiful surrounding countryside has changed considerably. The main harvest used to be sultana grapes but Turkey decimated that by flooding the market. Overgrazing by goats has denuded many a hillside. The olive harvest failed which will provide even more encouragement for the locals to cut down the olive trees for firewood because over winter they will need to keep warm and the locals are more likely to kill an eagle for food than to stand and watch it soaring high above.

But the main problem Plakias faces along with the rest of Crete is an increasingly downmarket tourist is here with less money in their pocket and poorer social values.

[John R]

I find your overall absolute pessimism to be underwhelming.

[Barny]

Agreed.