With 13,676 kilometres of coastline, Greece is a dream for any sun-loving beachgoer. However, in recent years, Greek beaches have been overrun by sunbeds, often put down illegally by restaurants and other businesses. The government is now taking action against the practice and is using drones to do so.
In March this year, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a so-called beach bill. The list of rules was designed to make the beaches more enjoyable for everyone and to put some much-needed order into the matter. One of the measures is that 70% of beaches must be sunbed-free, a percentage that could go up depending on whether or not the area is protected (85%) or ecologically sensitive (100%). In order to allow access to the sea to everyone at all times, sunbeds also need to be placed at least 4 metres away from the shoreline, as do umbrellas.
“Our goal is to protect, on the one hand, both the environment and the citizens’ right to free access to the beach, and on the other hand, to preserve our tourist product as well as the healthy entrepreneurship represented by business people who do the job right”, explained Greek Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis.
To make sure that the new rules are being followed, two main actions have been taken. On the one hand, tourists and Greek citizens are being urged to use the MyCoast app, where people can get an overview of businesses who are allowed to put out sunbeds and they can issue a complaint if they see an illegal practice or a business that doesn’t respect the distance rules.
On the other hand, the government is using drones in some of the most popular coast areas to ensure the beach bill is being followed. Kryoneri beach, Valtos beach, Lagonisi beach, Nea Heraklia beach and Masouri beach are some of the areas being targeted.
Following the introduction of the app and the drone inspection at the start of July, 350,000 euros in fines and 1,000 complaints had already been issued after just five days. The majority of those fines were given to businesses not sticking to their allowed space but three fines also went to unlicensed beach clubs operating without a proper contract. The biggest fine amounted to 220,000 euros for an unlicensed practice on Thymari beach.