2024 - New tourist tax in Greece

I don't know why they just don't be upfront about it and admit that it's nothing more than a revenue tax. Not really sure how they can spin climate crisis resilience with it.

More on this:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/greece-to-boost-climate-disaster-funds-with-hotel-tax-hike-1.1972348

It can't really be considered a revenue tax since it's the customer who pays and not the owner.

Given that the Greeks have never been very good at declaring their income, to say the least, other measures are planned for owners to force them to declare their income with heavy fines if they don't do it.

That being said, cash payment has always worked well in Greece :-))

Hmmm … does the increased amount with higher-rated lodging imply that fancier hotels contribute more to climate change? Or that people who stay in them are more responsible?

Maybe yachts burn more fuel than dinghys, and Rolls-Royces get worse mileage than Fiat 500’s. You probably use more water taking a long, hot shower or bath in a posh bathroom, than in a small one where you’re trying to keep tepid water from spreading out beyond the inadequate shower curtain or undersized glass splash panel.

How do we figure out how much the Tax will be per night for Self-Catering Airbnb type Accommodation?

We have already booked and paid for our Accommodation for next Summer. Some are apartments, some are detached homes. None could be described as luxury Villas !

Our first place is a detached summer house near a beach. Booked through Airbnb. Is it €1.50 a night or €10 a night ? Obviously a bit of a difference depending on the correct answer.

TIA

This is a new rule that has not yet been implemented, it is even likely that your Airbnb host does not know any more than you at the moment what tax amount he will have to apply, and how it will be counted in the price by night.

In any case, he will be the only one with Airbnb able to give you this information.

so this change is proposed but presented as a fait accompli before it is enacted by law? Is that how Greek government works (I don't know because I know very little about Greek government). Is there a chance that the vote will go against it or there might be amendments?

I thought the vote happened earlier this month (December) and it was passed.

This article explains the new tax for short-term rentals:
Greece Passes New Tourism Tax

The new law foresees the following changes affecting tourist accommodation and Airbnb-style rentals:
– the current stayover tax charged on hotel guests will be replaced with the new “climate crisis resilience charge”, which means that hoteliers/property owners leasing out one room/property or more will be required to charge an extra daily scaled fee which will range from 1.5-euros to 10 euros in March-October and 0.5 euros to 4 euros from November

Sounds like more of a headache for the rental owners than any burden on tourists.

I expect prices and taxes to go up so I do not find it very remarkable when they do....... If you can afford to travel to Greece, you can afford to pay the new tax.

Sounds like they are making tourists give back to the country that hosts them and recognizes that tourism is doing a lot of damage to the environment. I'd be happier seeing a tax equivalent to the full cost of environmental damage offset for each toutist as well as for management of environmental triggered catastrophes like firexsnd flood.

From what I've read to all the comments so far, I completely understand people being dubious regarding this new tax. As a Greek myself probably I would react the same. However according to the current government the mindset behind this change is that any revenue from the new tax will get towards those who are in need whenever there is a natural disaster (after a catastrophic earthquake or flood for instance). This decision was brought right after what happened in the region of Thessaly in September/23, where devastating flood occurred, resulting to human casualties and more! You may have a taste of what happened then in the following link, the text are in Greek, but I believe the pictures and videos can take down any linguistic barrier! https://www.powergame.gr/ellada/506349/kakokairia-daniel-eikones-apokalypsis-machi-gia-tous-egklovismenous/