Greece has approved a new national framework governing where and under what conditions tourism development can take place, setting tighter rules in heavily visited destinations while allowing more room for investment in areas with less tourism activity.
Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni signed the Special Spatial Framework for Tourism on August 7, along with Deputy Environment and Energy Minister Marilena Soukouli. The signed Joint Ministerial Decision states that the new framework takes effect upon publication in the Government Gazette.
At the center of the plan is a national map that places municipal units into five categories based largely on the intensity of tourism development. The government uses the number of tourist beds in relation to land area and permanent population, along with geographic and environmental factors, to determine how each area is treated.
Category A covers areas under the greatest development pressure. Category B includes developed destinations, Category C developing areas, Category D areas at an earlier stage of tourism development, and Category E areas where particular forms of tourism development are to be encouraged.
Those classifications directly affect new hotel projects.
Under the new planning rules, until more detailed local planning establishes land-use and building conditions, a new hotel on land outside an existing town plan generally requires at least 16 stremmas in Category A, 12 stremmas in Category B and eight stremmas in Categories C, D and E. A stremma equals 1,000 square meters, putting those thresholds at roughly four, three and two acres respectively.
The framework also favors higher-category hotels in more developed destinations. New tourist accommodations in Categories A, B and C are generally limited to three-, four- and five-star properties.
The rules are intended to make new construction more difficult in places already carrying a heavy concentration of tourism. Municipal units on destinations including Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and Crete fall within the most restrictive Category A designation under the framework’s annex.
The classification is made by municipal unit, not necessarily by an entire island. That distinction means different parts of the same island can face different development conditions.
Islands also receive a second layer of treatment based on their size. Greece’s islands, with the exception of Crete and Evia, are divided into three groups. Group I covers islands larger than 250 square kilometers, while smaller islands fall into Groups II and III and face more restrictive directions intended to limit development pressure and protect the landscape.
Accommodation capacity can vary according to both the island group and the tourism category of the area. On Category A islands, new tourist accommodations can be limited to 100 beds, while Category B island areas can allow units of up to 350 beds. Smaller or more environmentally sensitive islands are subject to tighter restrictions, with the framework calling for the more protective rule to prevail when different provisions overlap.
That layered system is one of the most consequential parts of the new plan. A proposed development may have to satisfy the rules of its A-to-E municipal classification, its island group, environmental protections and any applicable local planning requirements.
The coastline receives separate protection. Within 25 meters of the shoreline, new construction and site alterations are prohibited, with limited exceptions for accessibility, ambulance access and specific works permitted under Greece’s coastal legislation.
The framework takes a different approach in areas where tourism remains less developed. Category E is intended in part to support specialized forms of tourism, including mountain, thermal, marine and diving tourism. The plan also provides avenues for tourism-related infrastructure and the reuse of existing buildings or settlements under applicable planning procedures.
The Tourism Ministry says the aim is to reduce pressure on heavily developed destinations while extending tourism activity to more areas of Greece and across a longer part of the year.
The framework also addresses short-term rentals, but it does not by itself impose a new nationwide Airbnb-style restriction.
Instead, it sets out ways short-term rentals could be regulated through measures such as conditions on how properties may be offered, limits on the duration of rental activity during the year, geographic zones where rentals could be restricted or prohibited, and controls on new supply in areas under greater pressure.
For property owners, the framework provides the planning basis for possible restrictions, but it does not by itself impose a new nationwide cap on short-term rentals.
If you own property in Greece or are considering a tourism-related investment, development options can vary sharply by location. A property’s municipal unit classification, island status, proximity to the coast, environmental protections and local planning rules can all shape what may be built.
The framework is therefore broader than an overtourism measure. It establishes different development conditions according to the amount and type of tourism already present, placing stronger limits on new projects in heavily developed destinations while directing future investment toward areas where tourism remains less concentrated.