DW: Greeks “lament” the absence of Albanians? Tourism sector faces worker shortage

Greece’s tourism industry is currently suffering from a severe staff shortage. It relies heavily on foreign workers. However, Athens is making it harder for migrants with strict measures and limitations on immigration.

“I’d go on my knees today to the church of Megalokari just to find a staff member in time for next year,” says Matina, the owner of the elegant boutique Armonia in Tinos.

She’s referring to Greece’s most famous pilgrimage, which takes place every year on August 15th on this Cycladic island. Pilgrims make the long journey to the church on their knees, praying to the Virgin Mary for health, help, and support.

Matina, too, is hoping for help: she is desperately searching for staff, with little success—even though wages in Tinos are slightly higher than in Athens, and she even offers accommodation. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find workers for the summer tourism season. Nearly everywhere on this popular holiday island, signs read: “Staff Wanted.”

In the jewelry store next to the boutique, the polite saleswoman Tamar barely speaks Greek. She only knows the common greetings, and then switches to English. To understand what older Greek clients want, she must call her boss. Still, the jeweler is happy to have found someone to work for the whole summer. Tamar is from Georgia, came to Greece legally as a seasonal worker, and has been working in Tinos for a month.

Greek hoteliers urgently seeking workers

More people like Tamar could come to Greece with legal documents to work. In the spring, Greece signed agreements with Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, as well as India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, pledging to recruit 40,000 foreign workers. However, these agreements are being implemented slowly or with little to no success.

The bureaucracy is complicated, Greek consulates abroad are understaffed, and the offers are not particularly attractive. As a result, hoteliers across the country are still desperately seeking receptionists, cleaners, pool attendants, porters, waiters, and cooks. According to the Greek Hotel Association, there is a shortage of at least 60,000 workers in the industry.

Massive labor shortage

This is partly a legacy of the 2020–2023 coronavirus pandemic, which is still being felt across Europe, says Giorgos Hosoglu, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers. The problem is particularly acute in Greece: “We are experiencing an unprecedented shortage of skilled and experienced workers, especially in the hotel and restaurant sector, as many left during the lockdowns. Most have never returned.”

According to Hosoglu, one factor is the seasonal nature of tourism. When tourists leave and beach hotels and bars close, workers are only entitled to unemployment benefits for three months. “How are they supposed to survive the rest of the year, especially now, when the cost of living has been high for so long?”

In addition, a growing number of young Greeks are seeking seasonal work in Northern Europe—even in Iceland. And many Albanians, who for decades made up a cheap labor force in Greece, are either nearing retirement or leaving the country.

The forgotten Albanians

It’s a fact that the Greek economy has relied on migrant labor since the 1990s—in tourism, agriculture, and construction. Up until the financial crisis, Greece was highly dependent on workers from Albania. During the “financial recovery” programs (2010–2018), demand declined sharply. However, after the pandemic, as the economy recovered and tourism boomed, demand skyrocketed.

But other countries followed the same trend—offering better wages and simpler legalization procedures for migrants. As a result, many migrant agricultural workers never returned to Greece. It’s now clear that Greece needs an effective immigration policy. In addition to the 60,000 workers needed in tourism, another 50,000–60,000 are needed in construction, and 60,000 in agriculture.

Athens pursues far-right policy instead of smart immigration strategy

However, the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has chosen to pursue anti-immigration policies. According to this strategy, the best way to overcome crises, scandals, and low polling numbers is to crack down on migrants—to appeal to right-wing voters.

Former Minister of Migration, Makis Voridis, who resigned in late June over a scandal involving illegal EU agricultural subsidies, had already made life more difficult for many legal migrants. His first step was to “freeze” the extension of residence permits—a major problem for migrants who have lived and worked in Greece for years.

His successor, far-right Thanos Plevris, has done nothing to address the urgent need for legal immigration since taking office. Instead, he immediately toughened the asylum law. Repatriation of illegal migrants is his top priority. According to him, migrants who enter Europe illegally or whose asylum requests are rejected have no right to stay and must return to their countries immediately.

“Jail or return”

At the informal meeting of EU Interior and Migration Ministers in Copenhagen (July 22, 2025), Plevris made it clear that Greece can no longer handle the growing influx of migrants from Libya. According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 9,000 people have arrived since the start of the year, mostly via Crete. Plevris proudly presented his new law.

It mandates prison sentences of two to five years for rejected asylum seekers who do not return to their home countries. “Anyone who stays in our country illegally has two options: jail or return,” said the minister, who even had this statement printed on posters and shared across social media.

“KORÇA BOOM”