Mykonos police and port authority are braced for protests on Wednesday as owners of businesses which rent all-terrain vehicles to tourists are blocking the port over a traffic law banning ATVs from the island’s roads.
In a letter sent to the authorities, business owners claim the prohibition is hurting their livelihoods. The quad bikes — called “pigs” in Greece — are very popular with tourists since their use does not require a driver’s license.
The business owners are to block the port and prevent passengers and vehicles from traveling.
They issued a statement saying that “we want to inform passengers and professionals that we will block the port of Mykonos on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, from the early hours in order to stop travel and transportation of goods to and from the island at that date”.
In a similar incident, rental owners also blocked the port of Naxos on Wednesday, protesting the measure that is “killing their business”, as one rental agency owner told ANT1 television.
About 200 “pigs” have blocked the main port, erecting banners against the new traffic regulation that prohibits the use of four-wheel motorcycles on asphalt roads.
Other than Mykonos and Naxos, other popular Aegean islands have made efforts to stop the new regulation. Rental businesses of Ios, Santorini and Paros have made official petitions against the new law but with no results.
