by Cristiana Missori

(ANSA) - ROME - After the migrant emergency in the summer of 2015, the Greek island of Samos is trying to turn the page and seeking to attract tourists again.

The dropping number of visitors is undeniable: ''out of some 135,000 visitors last year, 120,000'' were registered in 2016 - a 16% drop, said Mayor Michalis Angelopoulos who was in Rome last night for an event to promote the island, organized by the Greek tourism agency in Italy at the residence of the ambassador to Italy, Themistoklis Demiris.

The eighth island of Greece, located just 1 km from the Turkish coast, the homeland of Pitagoras and Epicurus ''hosts at the moment some 2,500 migrants - between hot spots, small homes and tents - from Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria'', said Angelopoulos. Today things are going better, he confirmed, after the agreement between the European Union and Turkey the landings have almost entirely stopped. ''From October 10 until November 21, 938 migrants have reached the island''. Over the past few months, he explained, ''the island has carried out many efforts to safeguard the economy, 85% of which is based on tourism'', attracted by the beautiful beaches, the sun, food, wines and nature, but most of all by its 3,000 years of history with several archeological areas, including some listed as UNESCO world heritage sites since 1992.

Over the past year and a half, the island has been able to welcome migrants and refugees and cohabit with them.

''For the moment, we have not registered incidents or episodes of racism between residents and migrants'', said the mayor. ''We are trying to seek a balance between these realities. And I don't think there is any danger for tourists or students of the Aegean University - some 2,000 - who permanently reside on the island''. What is certain, he added, is that Samos is not able to support all these migrants at its best. ''For this reason we have asked for families and children who need economic, psychological and healthcare support to be transferred to Athens by December - overall 500 people''.

A necessity, he noted, is a ''special status preserving islands like Samos or Sicily. Together with the mayors of Lampedusa, Calais and many other areas of Turkey we are cooperating and bringing forward our issues also in Europe, he said.

Promoting the island, a candidate as European culture capital in 2012, ''is a national and moral duty'', said Ambassador Demiris, ''for all it did in welcoming'' migrants. (ANSA).