As of: March 24, 2024, 9:27 a.m
By: Laura Hindelang
Comments
Press
Split
In the fight against mass tourism, Greece has passed a new law that is intended to protect beaches from overcrowding.
Greece is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Germans.
This year, the Mediterranean country is expecting a record influx of holidaymakers.
According to forecasts from the
National Bank of Greece,
around 35.4 million visitors are expected.
Including tourists who had to cancel their vacation because of last summer's forest fires.
Greece even wants to give you a free vacation.
The many Greek islands are particularly popular as a travel destination.
The picturesque beaches in particular attract many tourists - perhaps too many tourists?
Large parts of the beaches in Greece will soon be without loungers
The country wants to take action against overcrowded beaches with a new law that was passed at the end of February.
As the
Travelbook
portal reports, the measures are intended to protect the coast and enhance the stay for visitors - both holidaymakers and locals.
A key part of the new law is that part of the beach must remain free of loungers.
According to the
Greekreporter
portal , 70 percent of the area should remain without loungers in the future, and even 85 percent in nature-protected bathing areas.
In the future, the majority of beaches in Greece should remain free of loungers.
© Panthermedia/Imago
To ensure better access to the water, a minimum distance of four meters should be maintained between the loungers and the sea.
In the future, it will also be forbidden for companies to use more than half of the beach.
The coastal sections should remain accessible to the public.
Locals have been protesting against this for a long time, writes the
travel reporter
.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is accommodating them and restricting commercial use, as he himself announced on TikTok.
In addition, the authorization to manage a beach area should include more obligations under the new law.
In addition to cleanliness and hygiene, there is also an obligation to allow people with disabilities access to the beach and to hire a lifeguard.
The lease allocations for concessions will soon be awarded via online auctions to make the process more transparent.
According to
Greekreporter,
the law will be enforced with controls, fines and, if necessary, even closure.
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While this law helps protect the coast, another regulation has drawn criticism.
At the beginning of March, the Greek government announced that there were plans to lift the minimum protection limit of 30 meters off the coast - and thus allow development directly on the sea.
A controversial project, especially since other Mediterranean countries such as France and Spain are establishing protection zones of 100 to 250 meters off the coast, emphasizes
Greekreporter
.
If you want to try a different travel destination this year, you should think about a vacation in Albania.
The Balkan country is considered an inexpensive alternative to Greece.