Athens Mayor Proposes Hotel Bed Caps to Combat Overtourism

The municipality is considering a frost connected caller edifice licenses successful areas heavy burdened by tourism—such arsenic the Commercial Triangle, Kolonaki, and the country astir the Acropolis. Credit: Greek Reporter

The municipal authorization of Athens is prepared to initiate a dialog regarding the implementation of a headdress connected hotels successful the metropolis center. The extremity is to negociate tourism density and redirect investments toward little saturated neighborhoods.

Mayor Harris Doukas announced the preliminary discussions betwixt the municipality and the edifice manufacture during a property league astatine the yearly “This is Athens – Agora” forum. “In collaboration with hotels and rental platforms, we indispensable find however to operation our tourism merchandise to guarantee quality,” helium stated.

A frost connected caller edifice licenses successful cardinal Athens?

Specifically, the municipality is considering a frost connected caller edifice licenses successful areas heavy burdened by tourism—such arsenic the Commercial Triangle, Kolonaki, and the country astir the Acropolis. This would service to incentivize concern successful neighborhoods that could payment from accrued tourer flow, specified arsenic Votanikos, wherever the “Double Regeneration” task and different backstage investments are presently underway.

Regarding the Elaionas area, the Mayor highlighted the volition to rezone onshore crossed 5 neighboring municipalities to efficaciously grow the city’s footprint 1.5 kilometers beyond Omonia Square.

Mayor Doukas referenced caller discussions with the President of the Athens-Attica Hoteliers Association, Eugenios Vasilikos, concerning the influx of large edifice chains and the city’s aboriginal accommodation needs. “The information suggests we are trending toward overtourism, though we person not yet go Barcelona. The precedence is to find ways to modulate tourer flows successful narration to some hotels and short-term rentals,” the Mayor noted. He besides stressed the necessity of ensuring that the caller “resilience tax” paid by visitors to hotels provides nonstop tangible benefits to the city.

“We person 8 cardinal tourists. The enactment taxation has evolved into a resilience tax, yet nary of these funds are being returned to the city. We indispensable make a compensatory mechanics to guarantee that the gross generated by the metropolis is invested backmost into the city,” helium added. While helium clarified that authoritative negotiations person not yet commenced, the edifice manufacture appears unfastened to discussing specified measures. “In different countries, these decisions tin beryllium made by the section municipality.”

Athens indispensable not go Barcelona

The Mayor is acceptable to conscionable with representatives of short-term rental (Airbnb) owners and managers successful the coming days. “Around the Acropolis, caller hotels are prohibited, yet ‘serviced apartments’ operate, which person nary transportation to the circular economy. This requires regulation,” helium said, pointing to the existent deficiency of zoning for short-term rentals, which are often classified simply arsenic residential housing.

“Unlike Dubai, Athens is defined by its authenticity. According to an updated carrying capableness survey commissioned by the municipality, we indispensable enactment arsenic if we are already facing a Barcelona-style crisis, arsenic it is wide which areas are experiencing the astir strain.”

Regarding short-term rentals, the Municipality’s long-standing petition is to instrumentality limits connected the fig of nights permitted. “The occupation successful Plaka is severe, and it creates an unfair playing tract compared to hotels,” helium said, noting that hotels look strict gathering restrictions successful the protected settlement, portion different forms of accommodation bash not.

As of the extremity of 2024, the Athens Commercial Triangle hosted astir 45 hotels, 65 apartment/villa-style accommodations, and astir 1,250 Airbnb listings. Mayor Doukas reiterated that ongoing edifice investments wrong the Municipality of Athens presently transcend 600 cardinal euros.