In the new year, Greece introduced a climate tax, which replaced the hotel tax. Officially called the “Climate Crisis Resilience Payment,” it was inspired by natural disasters that ravaged the Balkans this summer—flooding, heat waves, and wildfires. The islands of Rhodes and Corfu were particularly hard hit.
The amount of tax depends on the hotel category and time of year. So, in the period from March to October, per night in a 1 or 2* hotel you will have to pay an additional 1.5 euros (previously the hotel tax was 0.5 euros), for a three-star hotel — 3 euros (previously 1.5 euros), for a four-star hotel — 3 euros (previously 1.5 euros), – 7 euros (instead of 3 euros last year), five-star – 10 euros (previously 5 euros). From November to February, the fees are approximately 2 times lower. It is assumed that the collected amount — the government expects 600 million euros per year — will go to the reserve fund and will be used to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters.
Let us remember that last summer Greece experienced serious disasters. Heavy rainfall led to massive flooding — houses, bridges, roads were destroyed, and crops were flooded. Subsequently, a severe heat wave caused forest fires that killed two dozen people.
Information that the tax for tourists will increase appeared in September last year. The Prime Minister of the Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, told reporters about this. The authorities also plan to increase the financial burden on owners of apartments and houses who rent them out to tourists through Airbnb from 2024. In particular, if the owner of more than three real estate properties is registered in the service, then income from the rental of housing will be subject to VAT and additional fees, which will also affect the cost of accommodation.