The amendment of the ministerial decision for the 1st announcement of the Aid Scheme “Regime of Special Aid Areas”, in order to pave the way for the inclusion of more hotels in it, is requested by the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers (POX), Mr. Yiannis Hatzis, in a letter to the Minister of Development, Mr. Takis Theodorikakos.
Emphasizing that there can be no serious planning of a new production model for the country if tourism does not occupy a central and equal position in it, POX calls for…
- the lifting of geographical restrictions on the inclusion of tourism investment projects,
- the review of the category upgrade criterion for existing accommodations and
- the increase in the percentage of tourism’s participation in the overall support of the scheme.
As noted in the letter, the recent publication of the 1st announcement of the Aid Scheme “Schedule of Special Aid Areas” confirms POX’s concerns about the absence of an explicit reference to tourism in the new Development Law, in contrast to the previous Development Law (Law 4887/2022) where tourism was explicitly included among the sectors that constitute a priority of the country’s development policy.
In fact, this contradicts the main objective set by the new Development Law on promoting sustainable development, with an emphasis on reducing social and regional inequalities and addressing the acute demographic problem, notes POX, something that “the tourism sector has been serving in practice for years”.
POX expresses our “strong reservations and concerns regarding the position of tourism and in particular the hotel sector within the framework of the country’s new development model” and concludes that “the absence of tourism from article 3 of the new Development Law 5203/2025 is not simply a verbal omission, but the result of a specific strategic choice”.
Read the entire letter from POX…
“To
Mr. Takis Theodorikakos, Minister of Development.
Notification
Mrs. Olga Kefalogiannis, Minister of Tourism.
Mr. Giannis Paraschi, President SETE.
Honorable Mr Minister,
The tourism sector has been a key pillar of the Greek economy over time, with a substantial contribution to GDP, job creation, and enhancing regional development, especially in islands and remote areas. In addition, it interconnects the country with the international market and activates chains of value in critical sectors such as focus, transport, and construction.
In this letter, we return to issues that we have already raised with our previous interventions and re-express our strong reservations and concerns regarding the position of tourism and, in particular, the hotel industry in the context of the country’s new development model, as formulated by the provisions of Law 5203.
We have already pointed out that in Article 3 of Law 5203/2025, while the main objective is to promote sustainable development, with an emphasis on the reduction of social and regional inequalities and the treatment of the acute demographic problem, goals that the tourist sector has served for years. It should be recalled that, Article 1 of Law 4887/2022, which was amended by this provision, tourism was explicitly included among the areas that are a priority of the country’s development policy.
This absence undermines the completeness and strategic balance of the new productive model, as the export nature of tourism, its decisive role in regional development, as well as its multiplier influence in other critical sectors of the economy, is overlooked.
The recent issue of the 1st Call for the Aid Regime “Special Aid Regulations” (Government Gazette B ‘3306) confirms our concerns.
1. However, the notice includes numerous areas of the country, the tourism sector is permitted to submit investment projects exclusively: in the Northern Aegean Region, the island of Samothraki, and the South Aegean islands (Article 25 of Article 1 of the HR). That is, it is excluded without justification, almost all of the rest of the areas, including many with a clear tourist nature and investment support needs.
2. The prerequisite for the submission of existing accommodation in the modernization of integrated form to upgrade them to a category of at least 3 stars. We have repeatedly stressed that many hotels, due to urban planning or other objective restrictions, are not able to upgrade to the category, despite the fact that they offer quality services. The exclusion of these businesses, which are often deprived of access to bank funding, is a serious development obstacle.
3. The amount of the aid to be provided in the tourism sector is limited to 15% of the overall support of the regime, which is suspended as it does not meet the actual needs of the sector and discourages serious investment initiatives.
Unfortunately, the above findings confirm that the absence of tourism from article 3 of Law 5203/2025 is not only a verbal omission, but a result of a specific strategic choice.
We reiterate, once again, that there can be no serious design of a new productive model for the country if tourism does not have a central and equal position in it.
In light of the foregoing, we request the amendment of the relevant Ministerial Decision to:
• To remove geographical restrictions on tourism investment plans,
• Re-examine the category upgrade criterion for existing accommodation and
• Increase the percentage of tourism participation in the overall support of the regime.
We remain at your disposal for any clarification. “
