Kefalogianni responds to Doukas: “You are undermining Athens’ image and harming tourism”

A clash erupted between Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and Athens Mayor Haris Doukas following the latter’s interview on overtourism in the Greek capital.

On Sunday morning (April 26), Ms Kefalogianni issued a statement saying: “The mayor of Athens must, first and foremost, take care of the daily life of the city’s residents, its cleanliness, functionality and their quality of life. Interviews with foreign media that convey misleading messages about Athens do not protect the city. On the contrary, they undermine its image and harm tourism in the capital.”

According to her, “Athens does not need manufactured images of crisis. It needs serious work, a responsible stance and policies that genuinely address the pressures created by increased tourist demand.

The government has already taken a series of strict measures to protect the city and manage the impact of tourism. Therefore, any comparison between Athens and other international destinations, such as Barcelona, is simplistic and misguided,” Ms Kefalogianni noted, concluding:

“Athens is today a leading international destination. It has evolved not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. We all have a duty to protect it with seriousness, responsibility and respect for the city’s residents, workers and businesses.”

Doukas to the Guardian: “Athens cannot operate like a huge hotel”

“Athens cannot operate as if it were a huge hotel. Restrictions and rules are needed. Cities must also have a say in shaping their development,” Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said yesterday in an interview with the Guardian.

Speaking to Helena Smith of the British newspaper, he expressed concern that entire neighborhoods risk losing their authenticity due to uncontrolled tourism growth, warning that the start of the tourist season puts much of the city’s historic center at risk.

Last year, more than 8 million people visited Athens — a record for a metropolis that until recently was seen merely as a stopover en route to the Greek islands. In terms of short-term rentals alone, overnight stays in the popular Plaka district, beneath the Acropolis, have more than doubled since 2018, according to a recent study.

“The whole of Athens is being dug up so we can cope,” said Doukas, a professor of energy and climate policy before being elected to lead Greece’s largest municipality. “We are building electricity infrastructure, water systems, new sewage networks, 5G networks. When you have around 700,000 residents and 8 million visitors, the pressure is enormous.” According to him, “additional staff, more equipment, more machinery” are being added every month to meet the challenges.

As Athens’ appeal as a tourist destination grows, the mayor has also taken aim at real estate investors, major construction companies and the construction of high-rise buildings near the Acropolis.

Referring to unchecked tourism development, he told the British newspaper: “We will stop all tourism investment in Plaka, which I want to preserve. There is no longer space for short-term rentals, serviced apartments, hotels or other tourist uses. The area is saturated,” he said, adding: “We want to say ‘enough is enough’ through a new law that will be introduced.” According to him, investors should turn to other, “less saturated” areas of the capital.

As he told the Guardian, he intends to make use of a bill on spatial planning for tourism, currently under discussion, to request a blanket ban on new business activity in the city’s historic center.

The mayor is also considering a “freeze” on new building permits for hotels — following restrictions already imposed by the government on short-term rentals in certain areas.

“When the entire center of Athens is turning into a hotel zone, I cannot be the only one saying it,” he stressed, referring to remarks by the president of the Athens Hoteliers Association, who supported limits on new hotel construction, citing Barcelona as an example, where no new licenses have been issued since 2017.

“Now that the president of the Athens Hoteliers Association has taken a position, the discussion has officially begun. Athens cannot become [another] Barcelona,” Doukas said.

Doukas responds

Replying to Olga Kefalogianni, Haris Doukas stated:

“Athens does not need beautification from late-coming defenders. Uncontrolled tourism growth is threatening its iconic neighborhoods.

Those who fail to see this are simply burying their heads in the sand.

I call on the Minister to examine our well-documented proposals and to support our request for the resilience fee to be allocated to the Municipality, so that the necessary infrastructure can be developed.

Tourists cannot be paying fees to hotels while the government retains them and does not return a single euro to the Municipality.

I also call on the Minister, instead of identifying non-existent enemies, to engage with the Municipal Authority of Athens on a comprehensive plan for the city’s sustainable tourism development.”