Laws, Regulations & Policies

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 rental terms.

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 Chamber of Hotels (HCH) in Thessaloniki, last week.

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 will become law following Parliament’s final approval of the new telecoms package.

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 agencies under rules voted recently in the European Parliament.

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 and photos in order to obtain visas.

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 Greek capital.

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 Network for the European Private Sector in Tourism.