Hotels in Greece may be filling their pools with sea water this summer in response to worsening drought conditions, under new legislation debated in parliament.
Greece has faced acute drought conditions over the past two years, with the tourist season adding further strain to already meagre water resources especially on islands with popular vacation destinations.
Elena Rapti, a deputy minister of tourism, announced government plans to clear existing legal hurdles to pumping seawater into private pools that would allow for the switch in response to shrinking water reserves on many islands.
“This (draft legislation) regulates the framework for carrying out seawater extraction and pumping it for swimming pools. The focus, of course, is to conserve water resources,” Rapti told a parliament committee.
Rapti spoke recently during a debate on a new hospitality industry reform bill.
Last year the country was put under pressure to reimagine a tourism model that climate change is making increasingly untenable.
With its turquoise waters and reliable sunshine, the country has long been a popular holiday destination, attracting nearly 33 million visitors last year and generating 28.5 billion euros in revenue.
Global tourism set new records from pre-pandemic levels, but the surge in holiday makers could undermine the economic mainstay in the near future.
Anger over “overtourism“ has even sparked protests in recent years on the beaches of the Cyclades, a collection of Aegean islands.
“People in Greece are getting more concerned that the (Cycladic islands) are changing very rapidly and, in a few years, what is special is going to be lost,” said Dimitris Vayanos, an economist at the London School of Economics.
Greece is not alone. Residents in other popular European destinations say visitors are harming the environment and local economies, particularly as short-term rentals from home-stay websites like Airbnb drive up housing costs and price people out of their towns and cities.
