In Greece, drones and an app to fight against the illegal privatization of beaches
On a beach on the Greek peninsula of Chalkidiki, the waves of the Aegean Sea lick the legs of the tavern tables and chairs set up in the sand… completely illegally.
But thanks to surveillance drones, the owners of the two establishments in this tourist region of northern Greece could soon have to remove their installation and be sanctioned.
To fight against the illegal privatization of numerous beaches, Athens is also relying on an application which allows everyone to report offenses to the authorities.
From summer to summer, the anger of the Greeks continues to grow because they see their bathing areas reduced in favor of private beaches, “beach bars” or taverns “with their feet in the water”.
To rent two mattresses and a parasol in Greece, you have to pay at least between 20 and 40 euros and sometimes much more on certain popular islands.
“The whole beach has been invaded,” protests Evgenia Rapti, a 64-year-old retiree, met by AFP in the seaside resort of Pefkochori, in Chalkidiki.
“The businesses have reached the coast, with tables, chairs and deckchairs,” denounces this woman who owns a vacation home on this peninsula known for its crystal clear waters and heavenly beaches.
– With or without a license –
“When we bought the house forty years ago, it was completely different,” she recalls nostalgically. “The beach was empty and it was nice to lie on it.”
“The problem with beaches in Greece is that there are entrepreneurs who, with or without permits, occupy parts of the coast to such an extent that ordinary citizens have no access to them,” adds Giorgos Theodoridis, one of the leaders of an activist group on Facebook, which has more than 12,000 members.
In May, the Ministry of Finance launched its first checks in Pefkochori and a neighboring seaside resort.
Drones flew over the beaches and their images will be compared to the data provided for in the concession contract in order to establish possible violations.
While the 2024 tourist season looks promising in Greece after a record 2023 with 33 million visitors, Athens is also counting on a new application called “MyCoast” which allows, in addition to the allocation of beach concessions, to report offenders .
On a beach in Chalkidiki, Giorgos Theodoridis, cell phone in hand, explains: “I can click directly into the app at my location and file a report saying that (this private beach) does not have a license “.
Since the end of April, some 6,000 reports have been sent to the authorities, including 680 for the Chalkidiki region alone, whose coastline extends for more than 500 kilometers.
In March, the government introduced new rules for beach rentals. Now, umbrellas and deckchairs must be at least four metres from the sea and no rentals are allowed on beaches less than four metres wide.
– Citizen movement –
All these measures were taken after the anger that shook Greece during the summer of 2023.
Starting from the island of Paros, in the Cyclades, the so-called “beach towel” citizen movement began to demonstrate on illegally occupied beaches.
“Tourist companies have the right to cover half of the beach that they rent from the town hall or the State and must leave a strip of coast unoccupied to allow bathers who do not pay [de matelas de plage] to pass,” explains Mr. Theodoridis.
Result: on the very touristy island of Rhodes, a beach bar was closed by the authorities. He had set up deckchairs… right in the sea.
“When we say that there will be order on the shore, we really mean it,” said Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on this occasion.
More than 1,200 beach concessions are the subject of a call for tender this year, in addition to 6,500 others in progress, according to the authorities.
But some tourist operators assure that the public services responsible for processing their requests are understaffed and have had no choice but to start the season without authorization.
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