Over the last few years, the number of travelers heading to Greek beaches has increased drastically. This has led to some tourists complaining that the destination is “too crowded.” It seems like the people have spoken, and the government listened. A new law is being implemented in the country, which will limit the number of sunbeds that are to be allowed on Greek beaches.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the law on TikTok, of all places. In his short video, he detailed what the new bill would mean for the future of Greek beaches. There will not be a set number of sunbeds allowed per beach. Instead, the bill contemplates that at least 70% of the beach must be available for public access.
In specific “protected” beaches, up to 85% of the space must be completely clear of sunbeds. The bill also stipulates that sunbeds need to be placed up to 13 feet away from the shoreline at the least. This regulation ensures that people can easily access the water from any part of the beach. That was another one of the complaints that tourists had made against businesses that set up sunbeds all over the place.
This law is coming into effect because of complaints about overcrowded beaches in the region. At the same time, it aims to loosen the grip that hotels and restaurants have on public beaches. While the idea works great for tourists and locals who want to spend time at the beach without paying a restaurant or a hotel for the space, it could backfire in a big way.
Another concern that tourists have been vocal about is that some of Greece’s most popular beach destinations have become costly. This new law limiting the amount of space that a beach club, per se, could use will inevitably hike up the prices for anyone who wants to have access to the club or restaurant located by the beach.
Proponents of the law still defend the idea, mentioning that the goal is not only to provide more space for the public to set up a towel and spend their day on the sand. In some cases, the number of sunbeds has gotten so out of hand that people can’t even walk from one side of the beach to the other. This new regulation aims to break up these blockages, sometimes formed by sunbeds.
The law will come into effect this summer. In his announcement, the Greek PM promised it would be enforced religiously, particularly in some of the country’s most popular beaches where the situation is getting out of hand. Hopefully, these new regulations will improve the beach-going experience for those headed to Greece over the next few months and beyond.
