Greece adopts new tourism development framework to guide investment

The Greek government has formally adopted a new, and long-awaited, national development framework to guide tourism investment around the country with the aim of ensuring the future sustainability of the sector.

Earlier this month, Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni, signed the Special Spatial Framework for Tourism. The joint ministerial decree sets planning rules that seek to balance tourism development with protections for the environment, local communities and the unique cultural characteristics of destinations.

“The new framework protects those destinations facing increased tourism pressures while creating the preconditions for growth in less-developed areas of the country,” Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said at the signing ceremony.

Greece is one of the world’s Top 10 tourism destinations with the tourism sector accounting for roughly one-fifth of Greece’s economy. It has hosted a steadily growing number of visitors each year and in 2025 attracted a record 38 million visitors and collected almost €24 billion in travel receipts. Consequently, Greece has also attracted significant foreign investment to its hospitality sector with hundreds of new hotels opening over the last several years and, by some estimates, approximately €12 billion in hotel investments.

In an effort to diversify Greece’s tourism destinations and its tourism product, the new Special Spatial Framework for Tourism creates five categories for the country’s mainland areas, and three classifications for the islands based on the level of existing tourism activity. Taking into account factors like number of accommodations, land area and resident population, the classifications set conditions for further tourism development. This includes the types of projects permitted and, for new hotel or related investments, sets thresholds for minimum land requirements, capacity to accommodate visitors and environmental protections, among other things.