ATHENS – Trying to strike a balance with hotels and short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb which are competing for foreign visitors, Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said those will multiple units will be regulated.

He said the changes will affect short-term renters that have dozens of properties and not those with one or two, with hoteliers dealing with rising competition as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes.

He told state broadcaster ERT that, “Those who have made it a profession leasing rent out dozens, or even 150 and 200 properties… those who actually take advantage of hotel privileges but with less taxation, will see changes, possibly within the tax framework.”

He didn’t say if that would include wealthy foreign investors who scoop up properties to qualify for residency permits under the Golden Visa program that also gets them a valuable Greek passport to travel in the European Union.

Greece was one of the world’s most popular destinations in 2022 and is seeing visitors continuing to come into December as the ministry is trying to lure them to come year round with attractions other than summer, beaches and islands.

Popular Greek destinations reported strong arrivals in November, said Kikilias, adding that the ministry was also promoting Greece as a winter destination through its “Greece DOES Have a Winter” and “Greekend*” campaigns.