Laws, Regulations & Policy

The United States announced that it plans to step up security by tightening its current visa waiver program, in the aftermath of the the November 13 Paris attacks.

Greek homeowners can now rent out their houses for temporary use without being required to obtain a special operations label following an amendment made to the law last month abolishing …

Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura announced changes to the criteria that accommodation facilities in Greece must meet in order to be awarded relevant classification following her meeting with the Hellenic …

A complete ban on roaming charges for using mobile phones abroad in the European Union will take effect in June 2017 and clear rules on the right to Internet access …

Package holidays, consisting of a flight, hotel or car-hire and purchased online for an all-in price or through linked webpages, will get the same protection as packages bought in travel …

Greek hoteliers are expressing their concerns about the new visa regime that requires travelers to EU countries to show up personally at a Schengen consular station to give finger prints …

A number of reforms to visa processing for Chinese visitors to the United Kingdom have been announced by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

A police-manned tourist information center has opened its doors in central Athens, providing visitors assistance and aiming to deal with potential problems that may arise during their stay in the …

Germany is turning to Turkey in efforts to overcome the mounting refugee crisis by offering its support to the country’s EU membership bid and easing visa controls for Turkish travelers.

Unless Europe is competitive in terms of tax and regulatory regime, destination appeal, perceptions of value and visa facilitation, its tourism growth will continue to lose out, according to NET, …

The Council of State has annulled a spatial planning framework for tourism which was passed in 2013 and has since created controversy in the sector.

Sudden surges in entrance fees to popular Greek museums and archaeological sites will make the country’s travel package uncompetitive in the global market, Greek travel agents said on Wednesday.

It seems that entrepreneurs don’t know what to charge on the so-called “upscale” Greek islands after the government released a directive “explaining” the new adjusted value-added tax (VAT) rates on …

Supporting small- and medium-sized tourism enterprise and fostering team work between professionals of the sector through cooperatives, joint initiatives and united fronts, top the government’s agenda for the year ahead, …

Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Skiathos are the first Greek islands that will lose a special value-added-tax status – a 30 percent reduced implementation of all VAT rates – …

Greek islands with tourism growth and high per capita income will as of October 1 see a 30 percent value-added tax (VAT) hike on all their goods and services, doing …

Greece’s Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura took over her post from interim minister Alkistis Protopsalti during the Tourism Ministry handover ceremony held on Wednesday in Athens.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched its first social media campaign about one of its strategic priorities: Freedom To Travel.

Following the parliamentary elections in Greece on September 20 that were marked by the victory of Syriza, the new cabinet and changes to the composition of ministries were announced late …

Prior to the elections of September 20, the leftist Syriza party said that if elected, it would introduce a tourism policy in Greece that will include a fair tax system, …