The municipal authority of Athens is prepared to initiate a dialogue regarding the implementation of a cap on hotels in the city center. The goal is to manage tourism density and redirect investments toward less saturated neighborhoods.
Mayor Harris Doukas announced the preliminary discussions between the municipality and the hotel industry during a press conference at the annual “This is Athens – Agora” forum. “In collaboration with hotels and rental platforms, we must determine how to structure our tourism product to ensure quality,” he stated.
A freeze on new hotel licenses in central Athens?
Specifically, the municipality is considering a freeze on new hotel licenses in areas heavily burdened by tourism such as the Commercial Triangle, Kolonaki, and the area around the Acropolis. This would serve to incentivize investment in neighborhoods that could benefit from increased tourist flow, such as Votanikos, where the “Double Regeneration” project and other private investments are currently underway.
Regarding the Elaionas area, the Mayor highlighted the intention to rezone land across five neighboring municipalities to effectively expand the city’s footprint by nearly a mile (1.5 km) beyond Omonia Square.
Mayor Doukas referenced recent discussions with the President of the Athens-Attica Hoteliers Association, Eugenios Vasilikos, concerning the influx of major hotel chains and the city’s future accommodation needs. “The data suggests we are trending toward overtourism although we have not yet become Barcelona. The priority is to find ways to regulate tourist flows in relation to both hotels and short-term rentals,” the Mayor noted. He also stressed the necessity of ensuring that the new “resilience tax” paid by visitors to hotels provides direct tangible benefits to the city.
“We have 8 million tourists. The stay tax has evolved into a resilience tax, yet none of these funds are being returned to the city. We must create a compensatory mechanism to ensure that the revenue generated by the city is invested back into the city,” he added. While he clarified that official negotiations have not yet commenced, the hotel industry appears open to discussing such measures. “In other countries, these decisions can be made by the local municipality.”
Athens must not become Barcelona
The Mayor is set to meet with representatives of short-term rental (Airbnb) owners and managers in the coming days. “Around the Acropolis, new hotels are prohibited, yet ‘serviced apartments’ operate, which have no connection to the circular economy. This requires regulation,” he said, pointing to the current lack of zoning for short-term rentals, which are often classified simply as residential housing.
“Unlike Dubai, Athens is defined by its authenticity. According to an updated carrying capacity study commissioned by the municipality, we must act as if we are already facing a Barcelona-style crisis, as it is clear which areas are experiencing the most strain,” he maintained.
Regarding short-term rentals, the Municipality’s long-standing request is to implement limits on the number of nights permitted. “The problem in Plaka is severe, and it creates an unfair playing field compared to hotels,” he said, noting that hotels face strict building restrictions in the protected settlement, while other forms of accommodation do not.
As of the end of 2024, the Athens Commercial Triangle hosted approximately 45 hotels, 65 apartment /villa-style accommodations, and roughly 1,250 Airbnb listings. Mayor Doukas reiterated that ongoing hotel investments within the Municipality of Athens currently exceed 600 million euros.
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