Tourism Spatial Plan: “Clampdown” on Airbnb, New Rules for Hotels and Islands — “Window” for Revisions Until End of June

A caller model of stricter rules for short-term rentals, including the anticipation of adjacent banning the enactment successful tourism-saturated areas, is introduced by the draught Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, presented yesterday by the Ministries of Environment and Tourism.

For the archetypal time, the program straight links Airbnb improvement to the carrying capableness of each destination, paving the mode for aboriginal geographic restrictions, operational clip limits, and interventions affecting recently built homes, particularly connected islands and successful areas nether dense tourism pressure.

According to the draught Joint Ministerial Decision published yesterday, short-term rentals whitethorn beryllium taxable to “spatially differentiated presumption and restrictions,” depending connected each area’s classification, peculiar geographic characteristics, and level of tourism pressure.

Within this framework, authorities whitethorn enforce peculiar conditions connected spot rentals, yearly operating clip limits, geographic zones of regularisation oregon prohibition, and limits connected caller spot supply, including recently built homes. These measures could adjacent let the suspension of issuing and registering caller Property Registry Numbers (AMA) successful the taxation authority’s short-term rental databases.

At the aforesaid time, beds offered done short-term rental platforms volition present beryllium included successful calculations of each destination’s tourism carrying capacity. This is considered particularly captious for islands and tourism-saturated areas, wherever existent tourism unit is nary longer reflected lone by hotels but besides by the accelerated dispersed of Airbnb-type accommodations.

Revision Window Until the End of June

The authorities is allowing a 15-day consultation play with tourism stakeholders, citizens, and the marketplace earlier finalizing the caller Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, seeking to easiness the archetypal question of reactions triggered by immoderate of the draught provisions.

The Ministries of Environment and Tourism are opening a caller rhythm of consultations with marketplace participants, portion Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni made it wide during yesterday’s presumption that the substance is not final, noting that the draught “is unfastened to improvements.”

Responding indirectly to criticism, Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou publically invited each funny parties to taxable comments and proposals “now that they person the last proposal,” arsenic helium enactment it. According to him, each comments volition beryllium collected by May 25, aft which the process volition proceed done the National Spatial Planning Council and past the Central Urban Planning Council (KESYPOTHA). The government’s program is for the Joint Ministerial Decision approving the last spatial model to beryllium signed by the extremity of June.

The curate besides emphasized the request to debar uncertainty successful the market, clarifying that investors with mature projects that person already received support from the competent authorities “will not look problems” and “there volition beryllium nary surprises.” He stated that the caller model aims to found “organization and rules for everyone,” linking tourism improvement for the archetypal clip to the carrying capableness of each region.

According to him, the caller spatial program marks the integration of tourism into a unified spatial readying strategy, which volition aboriginal beryllium specified done section and peculiar municipality plans arsenic good arsenic determination spatial frameworks.

“It is not easy. Sometimes it is not pleasant either. Nor cost-free,” helium noted, adding that the authorities wants to permission down “the fragmentation and unresolved issues of the past” successful bid to physique “tomorrow with readying and structure.”

Minimum Plot Sizes connected Islands Increase from 8 to 16 Stremmas

The tourism draught model sets caller rules for the spatial improvement of tourism and stricter requirements for establishing caller tourism facilities. Despite the statement surrounding short-term rental provisions, the main contiguous regularisation concerns the summation successful the minimum required onshore size for caller tourism developments, reaching 16 stremmas (about 4 acres) successful the astir developed tourism areas and 8–12 stremmas successful different categories.

Notably, the classification of “tourism-saturated” areas was based chiefly connected the ratio of edifice beds to imperishable population, without accounting for short-term rental capacity. As a result, successful galore fashionable destinations, the existent tourism unit whitethorn look underestimated compared to today’s marketplace reality, wherever Airbnb-type accommodations person importantly accrued the full load connected galore regions.

It is besides worthy noting that the caller model maintains favorable attraction for ample organized tourism investments, specified arsenic ESCHASE, ESHADA, POTA projects, and integrated tourer resorts, allowing their improvement successful each country categories. However, for astir Greek islands — but Evia, Crete, Corfu, and Rhodes — these developments volition beryllium taxable to a 50% reduced gathering coefficient.

The 5 Categories of Tourism Development

The caller spatial model classifies the country’s 1,035 municipal units into 5 categories, chiefly based connected the ratio of tourism beds to imperishable population.

1. “Controlled improvement areas” — the astir tourism-burdened regions — see Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos, and circumstantial municipal units successful Corfu, Zakynthos, Rhodes, Kos, Tinos, Crete, and different fashionable destinations. In these areas, caller tourism investments are not banned, but the minimum onshore request rises to 16 stremmas unless a larger request already exists, portion connected islands a maximum bounds of 100 beds per caller portion is imposed.
2. “Developed areas” see Athens, Thessaloniki, and destinations specified arsenic Paros, Antiparos, Sifnos, Kassandra, and Sithonia. Here, the minimum onshore request increases to 12 stremmas, portion connected islands the maximum capableness rises to 350 beds.
3. “Developing areas” specified arsenic Milos, Pelion, and Halkidiki volition necessitate a minimum of 8 stremmas, with nary bounds connected the fig of beds. Similarly, areas classified arsenic early-development oregon special-development enactment zones volition besides necessitate 8 stremmas and supply further incentives for tourism investments.

Three Categories of Islands

A abstracted classification is besides introduced for the islands, dividing them into 3 groups based connected their size.

The archetypal class includes ample islands implicit 250 quadrate kilometers, specified arsenic Andros, Zakynthos, Thassos, Ikaria, Karpathos, Corfu, Kefalonia, Kythira, Kos, Lesvos, Lefkada, Limnos, Naxos, Rhodes, Samos, and Chios.

The 2nd radical includes islands betwixt 20 and 250 quadrate kilometers, specified arsenic Aegina, Alonissos, Amorgos, Antiparos, Astypalaia, Ithaca, Ios, Kalymnos, Kea, Kimolos, Kythnos, Leros, Milos, Mykonos, Paros, Patmos, Santorini, Serifos, Sifnos, Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros, Spetses, Symi, Syros, Tilos, Tinos, Hydra, Folegandros, and others.

On islands successful the 2nd category, the operation of caller hotels beneath 3 stars volition not beryllium permitted, portion the maximum capableness of caller units volition beryllium capped astatine 100 beds.

The 3rd class concerns tiny islands nether 20 quadrate kilometers, which volition not beryllium taxable to immoderate restrictions.

Finally, an important proviso of the caller tourism spatial model is the implicit prohibition of operation wrong 25 meters of the shoreline.