Greece has introduced a raft of measures aimed toward tackling overtourism with passengers arriving at Greek ports dealing with an enormous hike in charges to enter the nation.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated on Saturday (September 7) Greece can even ban new quick time period permits elements of Athens for a 12 months in a bid to deal with Greece’s housing disaster.
He additionally introduced larger disembarkation charges for cruise ship passengers, particularly on the islands of Santorini and Mykonos.
On Santorini, authorities officers have stated the present charge of 27p per passenger might rise from between £8.44 (10 euros) to £12.66 (15 euros).
From April to October an lodging tax will probably be elevated with the cash raised pumped again into native communities beneath the plans reported by Bloomberg.
Below new plans, Greece can even increase its “Golden visa” program for traders prepared to place no less than £211,000 (€250,000) into native start-ups. Foreigners beforehand needed to buy property to qualify for the visa.
Financial institution of Greece figures present the nation acquired a file 36.1 million guests final 12 months, with 11.6 million arriving within the first six months of 2024.
In June, Mr Mitsotakis stated restrictions on cruise ships can be launched at Greece’s hottest islands.
He advised Bloomberg Santorini was a selected drawback, telling the publication the island would not wish to be swamped. Mr Mitsotakis stated whereas Santorini was “essentially the most delicate” vacation spot, Mykonos was the second “clearly struggling” beneath the pressure of so many vacationers.
Athens’ steps to rein within the detrimental aspect of tourism is mirrored elsewhere in Europe, with international locations together with Spain and Italy additionally introducing measures in vacation hotspots to handle vacationer numbers.
The strikes come amid demonstrations amongst locals who complain of detrimental impacts on the affordabilty and availability of housing in addition to environmental and site visitors considerations.
Saying a string of measures aimed toward outling his administration’s financial insurance policies for the 12 months forward, Mr Mitsotakis advised his viewers on the Thessaloniki Worldwide Truthful he hadn’t come “with a bag stuffed with items”.
Mr Mitsotakis introduced pension and minimal wage hikes, in addition to measures designed to spice up exports, enhance productiveness, assist with housing shortages, encourage the younger to stay with farming and deal with the nation’s low birthrate.
On the expansion in tourism, Mr Mitsotakis stated short-term leases shouldn’t be “demonized”, however promised to not permit any new ones in central Athens for no less than the subsequent 12 months.
His conservative occasion noticed its share of the vote plunge by a couple of third in final June’s European elections whereas runner-up left-wing Syriza additionally noticed its numbers decline.
The Greek chief famous his authorities has greater than a thousand days till the subsequent nationwide election to implement its program and claimed that his occasion is the one stabilizing power in Greek politics.