Greece to Tighten Rules for Short-term Rentals, Says Tourism Minister

Photo source: Airbnb

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni announced that the government would be tightening short-term rentals regulations and introducing mandatory standards of operation.

“The Tourism Ministry will immediately proceed with the regulation of operational specifications for short-term rental accommodation. Short-term rental activity has also created a social problem. There must be a tightening of the short-term rental framework. It’s not a sharing economy anymore,” said Kefalogianni participating in the “Greek Tourism – A National Affair – Destination Crete” conference on Saturday.

Greece’s tourism industry must enter a new era, said Kefalogianni, adding that although there were several destinations that were reaching saturation point, overtourism was still not a problem.

The goal, she said, was to identify what makes a destination authentic and competitive and at the same time move forward with the qualitative development of tourism focusing less on the quantitative and more on increasing average length of stay and spending per person.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni speaking at the “Greek Tourism – A National Affair – Destination Crete” conference.

In this direction, Kefalogianni said the availability of RRF resources was a “significant opportunity” for the sector with the upgrade of ports and marinas and making beaches accessible among the most important projects.

The minister also referred to the importance of wise destination management and the need to offer reskilling and upskilling opportunities to employees in tourism.

Lastly, she stressed the importance of bringing tourism higher up on the EU agenda and added that ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, Greece was calling for the creation of an EU committee that would be overseeing tourism matters.