Elafonisos is reputed to have two of the best beaches in Greece and tourists have come in their droves to the island to spend the day soaking up the sun and sea and leaving for the next stop on their itinerary. At the height of the tourist season, between July and August, over 3,000 visitors a day swamp the island in their 1,600 cars.
One tourist who came to the island half a century ago, fell in love with it and decided to stay was Enrico Toja.
The former managing director of Johnson&Johnson Consumer Group in Italy and a vice-president for Europe, now 78, is an energetic, well-travelled former executive who cannot explain what drew him to the island to set up a home and become part of the island’s life as a founder member and current president of the environmental group, the Ecological Association of Elafonisos (or Elafonisos Eco for short).
“When you are in love with a beautiful woman, you cannot explain why you love her, you just do. It is the same for Elafonisos. I like the Greek mentality, we (Italians and Greeks) are something together, it is in the blood,” Mr Toja told Neos Kosmos. He is a current board member of Centromarca (the Italian Association of Branded Products) and of the AIM (European Brands Association)
