Athens moves to curb mass tourism
- Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said the city is weighing a freeze on new hotel permits, after Greece already halted new short-term rental registrations downtown. - Doukas said Athens hosted about 8 million visitors versus roughly 700,000 residents, and warned central neighborhoods cannot keep absorbing more hotel beds and tourist apartments. - The push follows Europe-wide anti-overtourism measures, from rental caps to visitor fees. (euronews.com)
Athens is weighing limits on new hotels as Mayor Haris Doukas says the city must not “become Barcelona.” (euronews.com) Doukas raised the idea at the “This is Athens – Agora” forum on April 21, saying officials need to decide how many more hotels Athens needs and where they should go. He said the city is discussing caps on hotel beds in the center rather than unlimited growth. (euronews.com) (greekreporter.com) The hotel debate comes after the Greek government froze new short-term rental registrations in Athens’ first, second and third municipal districts, a restriction extended through December 31, 2026. Reports on the extension said violations can draw fines of up to €40,000. (greekcitytimes.com) Doukas said Athens now gets about 8 million tourists a year while the municipality has about 700,000 residents. He said the center cannot function as “a giant hotel” while streets, utilities and housing absorb the pressure. (greekreporter.com) (ynetnews.com) He also tied the tourism debate to money. Doukas said visitors already pay Greece’s “resilience tax” on hotel stays, but Athens does not directly get that revenue back for local infrastructure. (greekreporter.com) (skift.com) Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni pushed back, saying Athens remains far from overtourism and warning against rhetoric that could damage the capital’s image. Her response turned the issue into a fight over whether the city is managing growth or discouraging it. (news247.gr) The pressure point is housing as much as sightseeing. Greek reports on the rental freeze said central Athens neighborhoods have seen long-term supply tighten as apartments shifted to short stays for tourists. (news.gtp.gr) (greekcitytimes.com) Athens is not alone. Barcelona, Amsterdam and Venice have all tightened rules on tourist accommodation or charged visitors more as European cities test ways to keep historic centers livable. (euronews.com) Nothing has been frozen yet for hotels. But Athens has moved from promoting more rooms to asking where tourism growth stops, and who gets to live in the center when it does. (euronews.com)
