Measures for cruises
In particular, a special fee is imposed per passenger disembarking from a cruise ship in the ports of Mykonos and Santorini of €20 and in the rest of the country's ports €5 for the period from June 1st to September 30th of each year.
In the months of April, May and October the fee will be 40% reduced (i.e. €12 and €3 respectively). While in the months of November to March it will be reduced by 80% (ie €4 and €1 euro respectively).
The annual benefit is estimated at €50 million. The revenue will be distributed by 1/3 to the municipalities where the passengers disembark, by 1/3 will be registered in the budget of the Ministry of Shipping for the purpose of carrying out the necessary port works and by 1/3 will be registered in the budget of the Ministry of Tourism in order to improve the tourist infrastructure to support the tourism product of the country.
The fee increase is part of a wider strategic framework for the development and management of the cruise, which will be announced after consultation with the relevant Ministries. Among the measures being considered are:
– The development of homeporting
– The development of infrastructure in the ports for the proper management of both the birth allocation and for the control of flows on land.
– Incentives to attract smaller ships, with high-income passengers
– A comprehensive study to assess the contribution of cruising to the economy and its impact on local communities.
Resilience fee
As for the climate resilience fee, it increases from April to October for hotels, rooms for rent and short-term rental properties. The reduced fee is extended by one month and now also includes March, meaning it is valid for 5 months instead of 4 today. The revenue will cover natural disaster prevention and recovery costs and infrastructure improvement costs to support the country's tourism product.
The durability fee increases for the months of April to October:
- By 0.5 euros in one- and two-star hotels and in rooms for rent and rises to 2 euros.
- By 2 euros in 3-star hotels and rises to 5 euros.
- By 3 euros in 4-star hotels and rises to 10 euros.
- By 5 euros in 5-star hotels and villas and rises to 15 euros per day.
Regarding short-term rentals, the climate resilience fee increases from 0.5 euros in the winter months to 2 euros and from 1.5 euros in the summer months (April to October) to 8 euros.
In terms of market regulation, in the center of Athens and specifically in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts, from 1/1/2025 no new short-term leases will be allowed for one year, with the possibility of extension.
At the same time, as Olga Kefalogianni pointed out, the Ministry of Tourism is working on an operating framework for short-term leases. In this direction, it will proceed with the establishment of minimum functional specifications and corresponding security specifications, as well as the establishment of framework controls.
Finally, due to the significant response to participate in the public consultation of the new Special Spatial Framework for Tourism (SSP) - and the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SES) that accompanies it - an extension of 10 days is given, that is until September 25, 2024.
