Greece's Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni have signed a joint ministerial decision creating a new Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, setting national rules for where and how tourism development can take place.
The framework sets strategic directions and medium to long term goals for organizing the sector across the country. The main goal is for tourism growth to happen in an organized way that protects the environment, local communities and the distinct character of each area.
New rules for tourism investment
The framework sets clear, uniform and transparent rules for new tourism investments, organizes the development of hotels and other tourism infrastructure, and gives special protection to areas facing heavy tourist pressure. Islands and sensitive areas receive particular attention, and the framework will also guide urban planning in the coming years.
Areas are classified based on the intensity of tourism activity, using the number of tourist beds relative to land area and permanent population in each municipal unit as key criteria. Areas are sorted into zones A through E, while islands are split into three separate groups.
This classification determines what kinds of investments are allowed, minimum plot size requirements for new hotels, maximum bed capacity, and environmental protection terms. Strict rules also apply to coastal zones to preserve the natural landscape and protect coastal space.
Changes after public consultation
The final text was shaped after wide consultation involving organizations, scientists, tourism business owners and citizens, as well as opinions from the National Spatial Planning Council and the Central Council for Spatial Planning Issues and Disputes.
The overall structure and classification stayed the same, but changes were made in three areas: Controlled Development Areas (category A zones with intense tourism activity), Special Development Support Areas in category E, which include border regions, and the use of already-designated traditional and listed buildings, including neoclassical buildings, in category A areas.
The framework keeps a provision for "light development," capping the building coefficient at half the level currently allowed in a given area. Related projects will require specialized studies, a Strategic Environmental Impact Study, public consultation and a presidential decree issued after approval from the Council of State.
Hoteliers raise objections
Despite the post-consultation changes, the hotel industry has voiced concern about the framework's final form, saying key restrictions that had been set remain largely in place.
Yiannis Chatzis, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, said that in the final version of the Special Spatial Framework for Tourism, despite the consultation and input from industry groups, the core restrictions remain largely unchanged. He said sustainable development must be based on documented planning, legal certainty and confidence in the potential of each destination.
Ministers defend the framework
Papastavrou described the framework as a strategic tool for national planning aimed at organized, balanced and sustainable tourism growth. He said it combines strengthening tourism activity with protecting the natural and cultural environment, safeguarding the identity of local communities, and building long-term resilience for destinations.
He said the framework sets rules where there had been ambiguity, strategy where fragmentation had prevailed, and a long-term outlook where short-term planning had often dominated, adding that it provides legal certainty and encourages responsible investment.
Kefalogianni said the framework is a key tool for implementing a strategy of quality growth for Greek tourism, based on measure, balance and the real capacity of each area. She said it protects destinations under heavy pressure while creating conditions for growth in less developed parts of the country, with the aim of extending tourism activity to more destinations and over more of the year so that benefits reach more local communities, while local authorities retain room to design solutions suited to their own conditions.
