Laws, Regulations & Policies

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos sparked an angry reaction from tourism professionals recently when he signed a ministerial decision in November, which liberalized the tour bus profession so licenses would be easier obtained while the profession of KTEL intercity buses remains “closed.”

The Development, Competitiveness and Shipping Ministry plans to table a law in Parliament soon and fully lift cabotage restrictions for non-European Union flag cruise ships, the Greek press said recently.

“We were considered a heavy industry until the State decided to proceed with the collection of property tax through electricity,” President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Yiorgos Tsakiris said during the chamber’s first ever general meeting hosted at the Metropolitan Expo Center in Athens. The general meeting was organized on the sidelines of the Xenia hospitality equipment trade fair, held 25-28 November 2011.

President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Andreas Andreadis, appeared quite outspoken last month and received a round of applause from the audience on the first day of HAPCO’s 7th Pan-Hellenic Conference, held at Aegli Zappeion in Athens on 8 December 2011.

Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis last month paved the way for the creation of visa centers in Antalya and Bodrum (Halicarnassus) so to facilitate the movement of tourists to Rodos and Kos and other islands of the Dodecanese.

The 35 percent of communal areas of hotels and lodges will be exempt from the new property tax, Economy Minister Evangelos Venizelos said recently.

“The increase of the VAT on food catering services will not affect the taxation of all-inclusive tourism packages sold abroad,” Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said during a press conference in late August.
The Greek Government received criticism from restaurant owners and tourism professionals during the summer once it announced a VAT hike on food catering services (restaurants, cafeterias, canteens and hotel restaurants) from 13 to 23 percent. The VAT hike came into effect as of 1 September 2011.

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels recently made a list of proposals aimed for the regeneration of the historic center of Athens after Government Vice President Theodoros Pagalos submitted the relevant topic on Greek Open Government Initiative opengov for public consultation.

The provision of the draft law that regulates the liberalization of the tour bus profession so licenses could be easier obtained was voted in Parliament in early August.
To the disappointment of tourism professionals, the opening of the profession was “one-sided” since transfer restrictions (in favor of KTEL intercity buses) have stayed intact.

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos recently spoke about the obstacles posed by the European Union in regards to the abolition of visa restrictions in travel to and from Turkey, during a recent interview to Turkish National TV broadcaster TRT.