One after another, Greek authorities are rejecting new hotel proposals across the Cyclades, as municipalities and public agencies push for stricter environmental safeguards and tighter control over tourism development.
The latest flashpoint is Santorini, where consultations on the Strategic Environmental Impact Study for the ESCHASE Santorini Valvis Volcanic Spa project in Vlychada were suspended. The Municipality of Thira stated unequivocally that no strategic investment will be approved before completion of the island’s Special Urban Plan.
Just a day earlier, the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean had rejected the environmental study for a new hotel complex on Serifos, while officials on Kos issued a fresh negative opinion on another expansion project.
In a recent announcement, the Municipality of Thira reiterated its opposition to large-scale projects outside designated planning zones, stressing that Santorini has “exceeded its carrying capacity.”
It is calling for the abolition of exceptions that allow such investments to proceed despite the current freeze on off-plan building permits, for a blanket ban on similar developments across the Cyclades, and for strict adherence to the Environment Ministry’s pledge that no new permits will be granted before Santorini’s urban plan is finalized.
Local officials argue that further tourist expansion does not bolster the island economy; instead, they say, it erodes existing businesses’ income and irreversibly damages the natural landscape.
On Serifos, authorities rejected the environmental study for a proposed 93-bed subterranean hotel at Ganema beach, submitted by SERIFOS VILLAGE IKE. On Kos, the municipal committee unanimously opposed expanding the Utopia Blu 5 hotel from 50 to 136 beds in Tigaki.
The trend extends well beyond these three islands. In recent months, at least six major tourism projects on Rhodes, Ios, Kea, Milos, and Paros have also run into negative opinions from local councils and communities.
