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THASOS
Economy

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Economy

The economy of Thasos depends mainly on tourism. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the island, mainly from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. The island is dominated by small family-run hotels. Thasos has more beaches along its entire coastline than any other Greek island. The beaches, the most beautiful being on the east coast of the island, are generally spotless, including the longest beach on Thasos, Golden Beach, and beaches such as Chryssi Ammoudia, Paradise Beach, Pachis Beach, Tripiti, Atspas, Skala Maries, Skala Kallirachi and Chryssi Akti.

Green Thasos also benefits economically from its agricultural sector: almonds, olives and citrus fruits are exported. The interior has numerous vineyards, because the climate of Thasos is ideal for growing grapes; Thasos is also an important wine exporter.

In the sea near Skala Prinos, the second major port of Thasos, are a few drilling rigs that bring oil to the surface.

The marble of Thasos is popular all over the world because of its pure white colour and brightness. Marble has been produced on Thasos since ancient times, mostly in the quarries of Alyki, on the south side of the island. It was exported to distant places in Asia and many places in the Mediterranean. Among others, the Romans used much of Thasos' marble for their monuments. To this day, the marble of Thasos is still widely used. The marble of Thasos has a weight of 2850 kg/m3 and a compressive strength of 990 kg/cm2 which makes it very solid to the touch. The main component of the marble is dolomite (86%), together with calcite (12%) and quartz (2%). The marble comes from open quarries, which can be found all over the island. The highly desirable marble is still being mined on Thasos, now of course with the latest technologies. Most of it is exported and a very small part is needed for the domestic market. Thasos has huge marble factories that prepare the marble for export.

Sources

Wikipedia

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated April 2024
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