Μake us preferred on Google Greece has adopted a new national framework for the spatial planning of tourism, setting strategic directions and rules for how tourism development should take place across the country.
The Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism (ESPT) was established through a joint ministerial decision signed by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni. It was published on Aug. 7, 2026, and includes provisions that are already in effect.
The framework is intended to promote tourism development while balancing economic growth with environmental and social sustainability. It introduces nationwide rules for new tourism investments, provides guidance for hotels and other tourism infrastructure, and places particular emphasis on islands, environmentally sensitive areas and destinations facing heavy tourism pressure.
A new framework for tourism development
The ESPT is Greece’s national planning framework for determining where and under what conditions tourism can develop. It establishes medium- and long-term strategic goals for the spatial organization of the tourism sector.
According to the framework, its objectives include protecting the natural environment, local communities and the distinctive character of individual areas while improving the overall tourism experience.
It also aims to promote forms of tourism beyond the traditional “sun and sea” model, extend the tourism season and encourage modern, high-quality tourism infrastructure.
Other priorities include spreading tourism activity more evenly between regions, supporting thematic forms of tourism, connecting tourism with other productive sectors, reducing regional inequalities, improving destination management and addressing areas under tourism pressure.
The framework also emphasizes adaptation to climate change, transport, environmental and digital infrastructure, the green transition and reducing the environmental footprint of tourism accommodations.
For years, Greece lacked a modern and updated national strategic tool for organizing tourism development spatially, while the sector was undergoing rapid growth and facing new challenges, including climate change and increased pressure on popular destinations. Some tourism planning needs had been addressed through regional spatial plans.
The new framework is intended to fill that gap and provide nationwide rules and guidance designed to balance development, environmental protection and quality of life.
Five categories for tourism development
The national territory is divided into five categories based primarily on the intensity of tourism activity, taking into account the number of tourist beds in relation to the area and permanent population of each municipal unit.
The categories are:
- Category A: Controlled Development Areas
- Category B: Developed Areas
- Category C: Developing Areas
- Category D: Early Development Areas
- Category E: Special Development Support Areas
Islands, excluding Crete and Evia, are also divided into three groups according to their size, with different development rules applying to each group.
Group I includes islands larger than 250 square kilometers. Smaller islands fall into Groups II and III, which have more specialized provisions and stronger protections for their landscapes and environment.
The classification determines, among other things, the types of tourism investments permitted, minimum plot sizes for new hotels, maximum numbers of beds and environmental protection requirements.
Stricter rules in heavily developed areas
In Category A areas, where tourism development is very high, the framework prioritizes upgrading and modernizing existing accommodations and imposes stricter conditions on new tourism facilities.
New hotels outside designated urban plans must generally be built on plots of at least 16 stremmas, or 16,000 square meters.
For islands, new tourism accommodations can have up to 100 beds on the first 16,000 square meters of a plot. For portions exceeding 16,000 square meters, a limit of six beds per stremma applies, up to the maximum number of beds allowed under Category B.
In Category B developed areas, the emphasis remains on qualitative upgrading, but restrictions are less stringent. The minimum plot size for new hotels outside urban plans is 12,000 square meters, while hotels on islands in this category can have up to 350 beds.
Category C developing areas allow greater scope for new tourism activities and accommodations, with the aim of gradually strengthening their tourism offering.
Category D areas focus on the moderate development of emerging destinations and on using each area’s distinctive characteristics.
Category E areas primarily concern specialized forms of tourism, including mountain, thermal, maritime and diving tourism.
For islands, Group I allows greater tourism development, while Groups II and III face stricter landscape protection and limits on construction and the capacity of new facilities, which can have up to 100 beds. The aim is to preserve their character and promote more moderate forms of tourism.
Where two or more sets of planning rules overlap, the provisions offering greater environmental protection take precedence.
New minimum plot sizes for hotels
Until land uses, building conditions and restrictions are established through lower-level urban planning tools, the new framework sets minimum plot sizes outside urban plans for new hotels.
In Category A areas, the minimum is now 16,000 square meters, compared with previous exceptions allowing plots of between 4,000 and 8,000 square meters.
In Category B areas, the minimum is 12,000 square meters, also replacing previous exceptions for smaller plots.
Categories C and D require at least 8,000 square meters.
Category E retains the possibility of plots between 4,000 and 8,000 square meters under exceptions, provided the tourism investment meets strict planning, energy and environmental requirements.
The framework also establishes which types of tourism accommodations can be developed in each area, with an emphasis on higher-standard facilities, including three-, four- and five-star hotels in Categories A, B and C.
New protections for the coast
The new framework introduces stricter rules for Greece’s coastal zone.
Within the area extending from the shoreline to 25 meters inland, new alterations and construction are prohibited.
Exceptions are limited to projects providing access for people with disabilities, ambulance access and certain interventions permitted under legislation governing the shoreline and beach.
The framework also places greater emphasis on protecting coastal landscapes, considering the carrying capacity of coastal areas and organizing tourism development more systematically in coastal and island destinations.
Greater protection for sensitive areas
Additional protections apply to areas within Greece’s national system of protected areas.
The framework calls for moderate and sustainable tourism development, with stricter building conditions, limits on the intensity of tourism activity and greater requirements for environmental assessment and documentation of carrying capacity where necessary.
The final framework also places greater emphasis on islands, coastal areas, Natura and other protected areas, and sensitive landscapes compared with the version put out for consultation in July 2024.
Short-term rentals could face tighter controls
The framework establishes the planning basis for regulating tourism activities, including short-term rentals.
Potential measures include setting conditions for properties offered as short-term rentals, particularly in relation to their use as primary residences; regulating the number of days per year they can operate; establishing geographic zones where the activity is prohibited or restricted; and limiting the development of new short-term rental supply in areas under significant pressure or with particular geographic characteristics.
The restrictions could also apply to newly built homes.
Existing permits receive transitional protection
The new rules do not automatically apply to tourism development licensing procedures, Special Urban Plans or other approved projects that were already underway when the framework was published, provided that a specific official act had already been issued or a complete application had been submitted before publication.
The transitional provisions cover, among other cases, environmental approvals, environmental assessment files, preliminary approvals for Special Urban Plans, preliminary building approvals, building permits and applications connected with development legislation or funding programs.
The ESPT will serve as a guiding and binding framework for lower-level planning instruments, including Local Urban Plans and Special Urban Plans, as well as regional spatial planning frameworks, which will gradually have to be brought into line with it when they are revised or amended.
Tourism and other land uses
The framework also addresses how tourism should coexist with other major activities, including industry, mining, renewable energy and aquaculture.
For wind farms, development is permitted for self-consumption in Category A and B areas and on Group II islands.
The aim is to organize different land uses and activities more effectively, reduce potential conflicts, protect the environment and landscape, and support the sustainable development of tourism destinations.
How the final framework changed
The final version retains the basic strategic direction of the draft that was put out for public consultation in 2024, but incorporates changes resulting from the consultation process, environmental assessments, opinions from relevant authorities and environmental approval.
The changes include more detailed protections for islands, coastal areas, Natura and other protected areas and sensitive landscapes. They also place greater emphasis on carrying capacity, the environmental performance of tourism accommodations, the inclusion of neoclassical buildings in tourism regulations and stronger support for tourism activity in Category E areas.
