Αρχική Αναδιάρθρωση ΕΟΤΆρθρο 14: Τουριστικές επαύλειςΣχόλιο του χρήστη Maurice Love | 29 Ιανουαρίου 2013, 00:24
  • Σχόλιο του χρήστη 'Maurice Love' | 29 Ιανουαρίου 2013, 00:24

    I am deeply sorry that I am not able to properly communicate my feelings on this subject in the Greek language - I hope my position as a stakeholder in this matter will not be disregarded. It seems by the simple wording of Article 14 the Ministry's intention is to completely turn the illegal market of villa's into a fully legitimate business with absolutely no controls. I see this as a grave mistake in the future of the Greek tourist industry. I own a home in a neighborhood on Rhodes ( shared plot ) that was sold as residential housing. From the second year of the existence of my neighborhood, it has gone from a quiet and peaceful residential neighborhood to a completely unregulated tourist ghetto. These are some of the problems that are evidence that Article 14 should NOT be form part of the new law: 1) Occupancy rates are constantly reaching levels that are not tolerable within either a tourist facility or a normal Greek neighborhood. In my neighborhood, there are often more than 10 people ( and as high as 14 ) in a 3 bedroom home and more than 8 ( as high as 12 ) in a 2 bedroom one. 2) There seems to be a misconception these property owners are bringing money into the Greek economy. From what I have seen, the majority of the purchasers have made their "investment" with no money down, or in some cases have financed the properties to the point that their purchases ( with as high as 120% financing ) have meant walking away with money in their pockets on the closing date. This high rate of financing has meant they have promptly ignored any and all laws in order to meet their foolish financial obligations. 3) Living in a neighborhood with weekly turnover of tourists with a single contractor acting as staff managing about 14 houses, there are no rules, regulations or security whatsoever. Guest parties have included stag parties and weddings with more than 50 guests, drunken people vomiting into the pools and street - you name it, it's happened. The houses are extremely close together and just bot designed for this. 4) Owners of these properties have been warned by various government bodies to cease their illegal activities ( illegal tourist rentals, tax evasion, etc ) and the warning letters have had little effect. The EOT / ministry are well aware of the problems in my neighborhood ( I’ve spent nearly 5,000 euro attempting to stop them ). I have provided evidence including photos of beer cans strung together as decoration and floating in swimming pools. I have even provided documentation where the owners of these villas have made a criminal attempt to have me committed to a mental institution ( on my birthday ) for complaining about the illegal activities. It seems quite clear those with positive comments to Article 14 have keen interest in selling houses to foreigners to continue this type of activities. The director of the EOT in Rhodes has described the points I make above as "low quality" tourism - I fully concur. Mrs. Kefalogianni has described similar scenes from British reality TV in Kavos as "repulsive". I offer her the keys to my home any time so she can come and see what fully unregulated tourism in a private neighborhood ( operating for about 6 months each year ) looks like. Believe me, it's not pretty and not to the benefit of Greek tourism. I am sure she would agree.