New tourist spatial The plan caused a sharp reaction from the market: Hoteliers and entrepreneurs argue with authorities about limits, fees and Airbnb.
New Special Spatial Framework Plan for Tourismsubmitted for public discussion, caused a harsh reaction from the tourism market Greece. Hoteliers, tourism owners and representatives of short-term rentals are warning that the proposed rules could hit the industry if the state decides again manage complex reality using a ruler, a table and a couple of universal prohibitions.
The main complaints relate to the concept “bearing capacity” tourist destinations, upper limits on the number of beds, additional fees in favor of Green Fundas well as the inclusion of short-term rentals in calculations of tourist load.
In fact, the debate is about how the state is going to regulate tourism development: through precise studies, infrastructure assessments and different rules for different territories – or through horizontal restrictions, which are convenient to write in regulations, but difficult to apply in a living economy.
Hoteliers against universal restrictions
ΞΕΕ (Hotel Chamber of Greece) requires full publication and scientific verification of the methodology by which territories are classified in the new spatial plan. The organization also insists on the mandatory preparation of assessment reports bearing capacity tourist destinations.
Among the requirements ΞΕΕ — revision of the general limit in 100 bedsadjusting increased requirements for the minimum area of sites, abandoning the new environmental fee, including short-term rental beds in load calculations, as well as creating mechanisms for comprehensive reconstruction for oversaturated destinations.
Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that bearing capacity is not a fixed quantity. It depends on water, sanitation, energy, waste management, roads, public investment and technology. In other words, if the island does not have normal infrastructure, the problem is not only with tourists and hotels, but also with the state, which has been collecting taxes for years, but has not always built the things without which tourism turns into a burden.
President ΞΕΕ Alexandros Vasilikos stated that sustainable development of the hotel sector in Greece requires clear rules for both sustainability and development. The country already has an advanced environmental classification system for hotels, which should be used instead of horizontal restrictions, he said.
He also stressed the need for legal certainty, stability for investment and rules that do not demonize healthy entrepreneurship.
ΠΟΞ: bed limits are called arbitrary
ΠΟΞ (Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers) also criticized the project. In a letter to the competent ministers, the federation warned that erroneous decisions, horizontal restrictions and insufficiently justified prohibitions could negatively affect the country’s development for decades to come.
The organization is particularly critical of the capacity limits of tourist sites – 100 or 350 beds depending on the category of territory. According to the federation, these restrictions are arbitrary and insufficiently justified, since they do not take into account the characteristics of each specific zone.
Hoteliers warn that such limits could lead to fragmentation of land plots, an increase in the total built-up area, additional stress on the landscape and loss of economies of scale. That is, the state, trying to limit large projects, risks getting more small-scale development and even more chaos. A classic of the genre: we were struggling with a problem, but accidentally grew it in another corner.
A separate complaint concerns short-term rentals. ΠΟΞ speaks of its uncontrolled spread, which changes the nature of tourist destinations and creates conditions for unfair competition with hotels.
In addition, the industry categorically rejects the prospect of a new levy in favor of Green Fundrecalling that hotel businesses already pay a climate crisis resilience levy and a municipal levy for the stay of visitors.
Small placements are afraid of a blow to the family business
From a different position comes ΣΕΤΚΕ (Confederation of Greek Tourist Accommodation Entrepreneurs). The organization generally supports the need to limit excessive concentration of large facilities and is positive about limits on 100 And 300 beds for territories of categories A and B.
At the same time ΣΕΤΚΕ calls for new tourism activities in congested areas to be suspended until basic public infrastructure is upgraded.
However, the confederation strongly objects to the rules regarding non-essential hotel accommodations. In her opinion, such measures disproportionately limit small family businesses.
The organization reminds that on small islands and in remote areas, rented rooms and apartments are often the main form of tourism activity. In some places they account for up to 90% tourist offer. Therefore, excessive restrictions could lead to the decline of small businesses, further concentration of tourism and the de facto advantage of large hotel groups.
STAMA: Airbnb cannot be considered as hotels
STAMA Greece (Association of Short-Term Rental Real Estate Companies) objects to the inclusion of short-term rental beds in calculations of tourist load-bearing capacity on a par with hotel infrastructure.
President of the Association Vasilis Argyrakis believes that equating two different accommodation models is unfair and will make Greece more expensive. According to him, different things are put into one basket: a hotel and an apartment rented through the platform work according to different logics.
STAMA warns that such a methodology may give an erroneous picture of destination saturation, especially in regions with pronounced seasonality. The association also expresses doubts about the preparation of load-bearing capacity studies: without a unified database, any assessment of tourism load risks being fragmented and inaccurate.
The organization requires that such studies be entrusted to independent structures, carried out according to a uniform methodology and with clear criteria.
Main conflict: regulation or new bureaucracy
The essence of the conflict around the new plan is simple: the tourism market recognizes the need for regulation, but fears that, under the guise of sustainability, the authorities will create a new system of restrictions, fees and permitting barriers.
For congested destinations, such as parts of the islands and popular coastal areas, regulations are really necessary. Without water, sanitation, transportation, energy and waste management, tourism quickly turns from a source of income to a source of irritation for local residents. But if the state limits development without solving the infrastructure problem, this is not a policy of sustainability, but a bureaucratic imitation of care.
Particularly sensitive remains the issue of balance between large investments, small family accommodation and short-term rentals. Hotels are demanding a level playing field, small property owners fear being squeezed out, and the Airbnb sector doesn’t want to be treated like hotels.
In practice, the new spatial plan will be a test of whether Greece manage its main economic asset – tourism – not only through bans and fees, but also through normal planning. Because if instead of infrastructure the country again receives only new limits, new payments and new tables, tourism policy risks becoming another Greek document that regulates everything on paper and decides little on the ground.
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