The Comité International d'Architécture Vernaculaire (CIAV) has met on the island of Santorini from 27 to 31 May 2000, has inspected a number of towns and sites, has conferred with local architects, archaeologists and conservators, has held discussions with our Greek professional colleagues, and has agreed upon the principles which appear below. CIAV wishes to record its gratitude to the Greek National Committee of ICOMOS and its president Nikos Agriantonis, the Bellona Foundation, the Technical Chamber of Greece, the Municipality of Oia, to the organisers, and especially Alkis Prepis, Voula Bozineki-Didoni, Louiza Martha, and Sofie Talavanou.

• The conservation of vernacular settlements and the management of tourism within them must accord with the ICOMOS Charter On the Built Vernacular Heritage and the International Cultural Tourism Charter.



• Vernacular settlements are especially sensitive to commercial and population pressures, and it is essential that tourist development and activity is under effective government control.



• All vernacular settlements should be administered by means of comprehensive master plans which provide the framework for the growth and the limitation of tourism, for the physical planning of the settlement, for the definition of protected areas, and for the imposition of relevant taxes and the provision of financial assistance and incentives as necessary.



• The volume of tourism must not be allowed to exceed the capacity of vernacular protected areas and their infrastructure.



• All activity within protected areas must be subordinated to the conservation of the physical fabric and the maintenance, so far as practicable, of the traditional lifestyle of the community.



• Tourist development should not force the existing residents to leave.



• The economic interests of the existing inhabitants, and of those who contribute to the conservation, maintenance and wellbeing of the protected area, must be given priority over those who are parasitic upon it.



• Tourist and commercial activities in the neighbourhood of the protected area should be taxed at higher rates than those within it.



• A substantial proportion of the profits of tourism must be collected by government and used for the study, conservation, and interpretation of the protected area.



• All necessary planning and financial controls should be established, so far as possible, before any development takes place which will increase tourism.



• With a view to reducing the pressures or tourism, facilities and transport routes should be provided outside the protected area to cater for those who do not need or wish to enter it.



• Within the protected area the interests of cultural tourism must be privileged over other forms of tourism.



• Retailing and other commercial activities irrelevant to the nature of the protected area must be prevented from changing its character, by controlling their location and their extent.



• Tourist and commercial operators must be required to undergo appropriate training.



• Tourist-generated traffic and parking must be managed so as not to obtrude upon protected areas, normally by restricting movement to bypass routes and by providing bus and car parking facilities in discrete locations outside the protected area but within walking distance of points of visitor interest.



• Tourists must be given all practicable opportunities to understand or participate in aspects of the traditional lifestyle, and to understand the conservation and interpretation policies which have been applied. They must be encouraged to appreciate and to respect the sites which they visit.



• Santorini in particular is recognised as a unique product of the interaction of geology, environment, history and culture, and, as such, a single monument of outstanding cultural, natural and scenic values. With this in mind, the following special recommendations are made.



• The capacity to accommodate tourists has been reached or exceeded in many parts of the island, with the result that villages and sites are being or have been destroyed. As a matter of urgency steps should be taken to limit the total numbers of tourists, and to divert the bulk of them away from sensitive areas.



• A comprehensive physical plan must be prepared to deal with traffic, land use control, tourist areas and facilities, protected areas, and places of natural beauty.



• More detailed physical plans are required for areas of special importance or vulnerability.



• Planning and other controls must be effectively applied, policed and enforced.



• Agricultural and cultivated land must be protected from development.



• All development should be controlled to as to minimalise its impact upon areas of natural beauty and upon major views.



• Private owners of disused structures (houses, windmills, &c.) should be given financial assistance to stabilise and/or restore them.

Santorini 31.5.2000