The owners of three beach bars on the island of Naxos were taken into custody on Thursday afternoon for reinstalling dozens of unlicensed sunbeds and umbrellas.
All three businesses had been ordered to remove items and structures that were in violation of beach zoning and public access laws during inspections that had been carried out in the area over the past few days.
The owners complied with the order but went on to replace the sunbeds, loungers and umbrellas as soon as the inspectors left the island [see KTG Naxos report here].
The businesses in question are on the beaches of Agios Arsenios, Agia Anna and Agios Prokopios. Respectively, they occupied a surface area of 180 square meters, 234 sq.m. and 126 sq.m. without a license.
On social media posts, Greeks report that sunbeds and umbrellas returned also in other beaches in the country. In Achaia, NW Peloponnese, for example, five owners of beach bars were detained for placing again their illegal sunbeds and umbrellas.
Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis posted on Twitter that over 1,000 control checks have been made since July 21 and over 350 violations have been confirmed.
Λοιπόν, φαίνεται ότι ορισμένοι δεν έχουν καταλάβει: Όλα όσα λέμε για την επιβολή της νομιμότητας στις παραλίες, τα εννοούμε! Ήδη σήμερα το πλήρωσαν με 3 αυτόφωρες διώξεις αντίστοιχοι επιχειρηματίες στη Νάξο, οι οποίοι προφανώς δεν είχαν αντιληφθεί ότι οι εκατοντάδες έλεγχοι που…
— Kostis Hatzidakis (@K_Hatzidakis) August 10, 2023
The Minister assured that the government is determined to end the illegal occupation of Greek public beaches.
I am a tourist and I just love this Towel Movement!! Please, carry on and make the beaches free again! Free from all this business that is not right, Greek law says that beaches should be for everyone not for business, unless you have a permit. And if you have a permit, stay within it, dont act out of greed! The sunbed/umbrella business has gone too far!!
Easy solution, Confiscate and deatroy the illegal equipment.
After rebuying them for the third time it might slowly sink in.
the even bigger problem is that the government itself violates the law by renting out portions of the beaches with their ‘permits’. How is it that some bechaes are megically okay to close or partially fill up with infrastructure and others not? wasn’t the law clear that the beach is public, without exceptions? Every single official who has participated in this process, from MPs and ministers down to local municipal paperpushers, is complicit.
Bravo Towel Movement members! These crooked business owners are greedy, corrupt, and completely out for their own good. Throw them in jail, and fine them heavilly. They degrade the beach environment and threaten the sustainabilty of Greek tourism. My wide and I visit Greece annually and we make an effort to avoid these horrible beaches.