Greece has stepped up its crackdown on tourist spots to tackle overtourism. It is deploying surveillance drones to monitor umbrellas and sunbeds illegally covering its beaches.
According to reports from foreign media outlets like Euronews, within just five days of announcing a new law regulating sunbeds and parasols, Greece identified over 1,000 violation cases. They collected fines exceeding €350,000 (about US$380,000).
Under the new law introduced in March, Greek beaches must remain at least 70% free of umbrellas and sunbeds, while beaches in protected areas must maintain at least 85% of their space clear. Also, umbrellas and sunbeds must be placed at least 13 feet from the shoreline.
The largest fine collected during this enforcement action was €220,000 (about US$235,000), imposed on a business operating without a permit at Thymari Beach in Anavyssos, a famed beach located about an hour from Athens.
“Our goal is to protect both the environment and the right of citizens to access the beach freely and to preserve our tourism product as well as healthy entrepreneurship,” Greece’s Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said in a statement.
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