The main elements of the new spatial planning framework for tourism

Last week, the ministries of Environment and Energy, and Tourism, presented the long-awaited spatial model for tourism. Its mentation was assigned successful May 2018, with a deadline of 18 months (i.e. by the extremity of 2019). After successive extensions, the model was delivered successful March 2021, but the Ministry of Environment continued to submit caller observations to the contractors.

Finally, the text was submitted by the Ministry of Tourism to a closed consultation successful July 2024 – that is, the comments of the funny parties are sent to the Ministry of Tourism, but are not posted publicly. According to what the two ministers announced, the program will beryllium submitted again successful a closed consultation for two weeks, hoping to ratify it by the extremity of June.

What does it foresee?

The model classifies Greece’s 1,035 municipal units into 5 categories, depending connected their grade of tourist development, without taking into relationship short-term rental beds, which are present the aforesaid arsenic those of hotels.

In the astir touristic areas, the model provides for an summation successful the minimum onshore crippled requirements and a regulation – connected the islands – of the maximum fig of beds (e.g. 16 acres and 100 beds successful the astir developed areas, 2.9 acres and 350 beds successful the developed areas, and 1.9 acres successful each others, without immoderate different limitation). A bounds connected the fig of beds is besides acceptable connected medium-sized islands, while connected medium-sized and small islands it is stipulated that ample organized tourist developments will beryllium carried retired with fractional the gathering coefficient.

Finally, the program provides for the anticipation of introducing restrictions connected short-term rentals, depending connected which of the aforementioned 5 categories they are, and besides adjacent the outright suspension of caller Airbnb permits successful recently built houses connected the islands.

Does the caller special spatial model supply capable answers to the challenges facing tourism successful Greece? Does it acceptable the close limits connected construction, and the extortion of the earthy and taste landscape? Experts from antithetic fields commented connected the plan.

‘Business arsenic usual’

“The constitution of a special spatial readying model for tourism is necessary. The agelong hold successful the constitution of some this model and the Regional Spatial Planning Framework for the South Aegean, successful a play of tourism growth, was a governmental prime that had specific antagonistic spatial and κοινωνικά effects,” Efi Sarantakou, subordinate prof of Tourism Management astatine the University of West Attica, tells Kathimerini.

“We should measure the program not lone based connected the objectives it formulates, but besides connected the clarity and binding quality of its provisions. In reality, the lone instantly enforceable regulations are the summation successful onshore crippled requirements and the furniture limit, which fundamentally interest medium-sized hotels and nonstop territorial resources either to non-main tourist accommodations oregon to organized forms of tourism improvement that are permitted successful each categories of areas,” she explained.

Sarantakou said interregional inequalities are a diagnostic of Greek tourism, with 5 coastal and land regions receiving 88% of tourists and concentrating 77% of the beds. “The program does not beforehand the rational dispersion of tourism successful the little developed areas. After two years, their renaming to ‘special improvement enhancement areas’ had nary improvement impact. Instead of incentives, the summation successful the onshore crippled requirements to 1.9 acres acts arsenic a disincentive for section entrepreneurship. It is indicative that lone 1 enactment is dedicated to mountainous destinations, which look the triple whammy of demographic abandonment, clime alteration and isolation. On the contrary, successful the remainder of Europe, the regeneration of mountainous areas is 1 of the top challenges of determination policy”, she said.

The small grade of the restrictions included successful the caller program besides concerns Ioannis Spilanis, subordinate prof astatine the Department of Environment of the University of the Aegean. “The program foresees the continuation of edifice improvement successful each destinations, adjacent successful those it defines arsenic ‘controlled improvement areas’ [the astir burdened of the 5 categories], without immoderate regularisation beyond expanding the onshore crippled requirements. It is ridiculous to talk astir expanding the onshore crippled requirements to 1.9 oregon 3.9 acres, when modern units are built connected very ample areas, tens oregon adjacent hundreds of acres. Therefore, this is simply a logic of concern arsenic usual”, helium tells Kathimerini.

According to Spilanis, an effectual spatial readying for tourism should drastically bounds caller beds successful saturated areas. “The islands that are earnestly burdened are galore much than those identified successful the model arsenic belonging to the archetypal category. In these areas, there indispensable beryllium a intermission successful the operation of caller tourist beds (both edifice and short-term rentals) and a alteration successful the tourism model. There is nary request for further enlargement of the supply, there is nary technological logic successful continuing what is happening.”

The president of the Association of Greek Urban and Regional Planners (SEPOX) and adjunct prof astatine the Department of Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Loukas Triantis, besides points retired that the model successful rule allows for the continuation of the existent model. “If 1 reads the framework, 1 will spot that it uses affirmative terms everywhere. The words ‘saturation,’ ‘overtourism,’ the strength of pressures connected the situation and infrastructure are not mentioned anywhere. The model does not question the existent model of wide tourism.”

Triantis points retired that defining specific onshore crippled requirements for caller hotels whitethorn work successful reverse. “If an municipality program were to supply for greater onshore crippled requirements and the spatial readying model stipulates that the onshore crippled requirements indispensable beryllium 1.9, 2.9 oregon 3.9 acres, then it ‘obliges’ the municipality program that is presently under mentation to trim those requirements,” helium explains.

“I think this constituent is highly problematic. Let us support successful caput that the spatial readying model prevails implicit determination spatial plans and section municipality plans, which will each person to beryllium adapted. The municipality program will nary longer beryllium capable to prohibit large-scale tourist investments (the so-called “strategic” investments) successful an area, since the spatial readying allows them everywhere. So we are being led done regularisation to a deregulation of nationalist space.”

Regarding the planned regulations for the extortion of the coastal area, which foresees an summation successful the minimum region for the operation of auxiliary facilities to 25 meters from the formation from 10 today, Triantis says it is simply a affirmative change, but not sufficient. “Given the emergence successful oversea level successful the coming years, the minimum region for operation should, successful the sentiment of the SEPOX, travel the proposals of the Barcelona Protocol, that is, scope 100 meters.”

Lawyer Betty Chatzinikolaou, president of the Institutional Framework Council of the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET), and erstwhile president of the Greek National Tourism Organization says: “In 1986, the Greek National Tourism Organization had the courageousness to qualify areas arsenic saturated with tourism and to stop construction, protecting them from further degradation. Today, not lone bash we not situation to bash such a thing, but we are adjacent acrophobic to accidental the word ‘saturation,’” she says.

“In general, the agelong hold successful completing the model is evident arsenic it does not respond to what is happening today connected the islands and successful the coastal areas, and their implicit touristification. On the contrary, the model is not restrictive: its goal, arsenic it states successful its archetypal chapters, is to person onshore for caller investments. Not to code clime change, not to support the Greek scenery and the individuality of the settlements. This gives a archetypal indication. A 2nd 1 is that it allows large-scale investments everywhere, adjacent connected small islands, adjacent successful protected areas. Is it imaginable to ideate this arsenic the aboriginal of tourism successful our country? To proceed to physique connected what is astir valuable to us?”

Chatzinikolaou besides expresses reservations astir idiosyncratic choices successful the spatial plan. “One illustration is the σκι resorts. The program already lists 24, but it besides foresees the instauration of caller ones, successful a state where the clime is changing. The Tourism Minister’s thought astir operating σκι resorts each year circular is nice, but it needs clip to beryllium implemented. In general, alternatively of initiating the gradual alteration of the tourism model, the model favors ‘a fewer more’ – a fewer much hotels, some much infrastructure, everything to proceed arsenic it is today.”