Sifnos (Greece)

The Municipality of Sifnos is a medium-sized island municipality of 2.625 inhabitants, located in the western Aegean Sea, in the island complex of the West Cyclades. The municipality has an area of 73.942 km2, 27% of which belongs to the NATURA 2000 European Network of Nature Protection Areas. Its traditional Cycladic architecture and the urban diversity of its settlements have led to Sifnos being protected as a Landscape of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is well-known as an island with a great tradition in pottery and an impressive culinary culture.

The frequency and range of transport links, both locally and by sea, are characterised by seasonality. Concerning sea transport, Sifnos is considered to be part of the nonprofit line of Greece; as a result, it is served by a minimum number of ferry routes that connect the island to the port of Piraeus and to other islands of the Cyclades all year round. As for the inland transportation on Sifnos, its settlements are connected by five buses, operating under a public-private partnership. The number of both ferry and bus routes increases during the summer period. The island’s total population more than quadruples during the summer months, generating traffic and parking problems. In relation to that, traffic studies have been carried out on the island's capital and parking spaces have been defined in each settlement.

 

More so, Sifnos, being a destination promoting walking tourism, offers a network of 100 km of marked hiking trails, based on an older hiking trails network of 300 km, which connect small villages and cultural attractions around the island. The Municipality of Sifnos has also shown the will to promote alternative tourism, namely cycling tourism, as well as accessible tourism for People with Reduced Mobility.

 

The Municipality has set sustainable mobility as a top priority, being the first island in Europe that will initiate a Sustainable Island Mobility Plan (SIMP). SIMP follows the SUMP

methodology, yet adjusts it to island particularities. Lastly, Sifnos, is actively seeking ways to innovate in the energy sector by creating a hybrid park, with the vision of becoming energy-autonomous in the long term - a proposal has been submitted to the Regulatory Authority of Energy to this end. This displays great potential for the development of electro-mobility and ultimately the evolution of the island as an electro-mobility centre.

Resources

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