November 24, 2025
Integrated Tourist Resorts
Summary Points of Greek Tourism Legislation
An important pillar for the development of tourism investments in Greece—as in many other countries—is the enactment of legislation on Integrated Tourist Resorts.
Although Greece had introduced relevant provisions on similar tourism infrastructures quite early through previous legislative acts, the framework effectively began to operate with Law 4002/2011, which has since been amended by more recent laws, indicatively Law 4276/2014 which also contains provisions setting out the structure of Integrated Tourist Resorts and other laws that amend specific provisions,
Despite the enactment of the law, further delays occurred both for Integrated Tourist Resorts and, slightly later, for Condo Hotels, mainly due to the late issuance of necessary Ministerial Decisions that were required to establish the Operating Regulations for each category, as well as due to various subsequent amendments that either modified certain requirements or provided for special cases.
For Greek legal practitioners (and more broadly for jurists applying civil-law systems with similar legal characteristics in other jurisdictions), the ability to create real rights within a a complex Tourist resort , as outlined briefly below, constituted a significant innovation within the rules of Greek property law as governed by the Civil Code and other special legislation on co-ownership and the establishment of real rights.
It is of particular legal interest how this special legislation containing unique provisions of a real-rights nature operates “in parallel” with the rules of general private law.
Even greater interest arises from the application of these special provisions in cases where there is a legally irregular evolution of contractual obligations and disagreement between the parties, especially when the requirements of the special law have not been fully met.
In any case, for several years now, the legislation has been fully implemented and substantial investments have been carried out in Greece under this legal scheme.
Legal provisions in brief
The concept of such a Tourist Resort arises legally from multiple definitions contained in the law, particularly in combination with the definitions of:
- primary hotel accommodations and especially hotels,
- tourist furnished residences, and
- tourism infrastructure facilities.
Definitions
Primary Hotel Accommodations – Hotels:
Hotels are accommodation facilities that provide overnight stay in rooms or one - or multi-room apartments with a bathroom, as well as common reception and guest areas and a dining area offering at least breakfast.
Integrated Tourist Resorts:
Integrated Tourist Resorts are hotel establishments developed in combination with:
- specific types of tourist furnished residences, and
- special tourism infrastructure facilities.
Special Tourism Infrastructure Facilities include:
Conference centers , golf courses, thalassotherapy centres, tourist marinas, ski resorts, theme parks, athletic training tourism centres, hydrotherapy facilities, and facilities for special forms of tourism such as thermal-treatment units, thermal-tourism centres, rejuvenation centres, wellness and aesthetics centres, and diving-tourism centres.
Prerequisites
Integrated Tourist Resorts must satisfy the following:
- They are developed on land parcels of at least 150,000 m².
- The hotels included must be classified as five-star.
- A mandatory declaration by both the engineer and the owner confirming that common areas and facilities meet the requirements for serving the total capacity, including tourist furnished residences.
- Management must maintain all required common facilities in operational readiness throughout the year.
Real property rights
Tourist furnished residences within Integrated Tourist Resorts may be subject to horizontal or vertical ownership, and contractual or real rights may be transferred to third parties.
No more than 30% -according to the basic scenario- of the total built surface area may be sold or long-term leased, long-term leases must last at least ten years.
Operation under Regulation
Tourist Integrated Resorts operate under a Co-Ownership and Operating Regulation drafted by notarial deed and approved by the Minister of Tourism.
The Regulation defines:
- rights and obligations of owners,
- restrictions on ownership,
- rules for common areas,
- management and administration,
- oversight mechanisms,
- minimum services,
- common expenses and allocation,
- exploitation of common spaces,
- and other necessary details.
Owners and tenants may not lease, sublease, or create usufruct or habitation rights except as per the Regulation.
Transfers or long-term leases are allowed only after completion of construction and issuance of all required permits.
Final note
This framework is expected to support strong tourism development through Integrated Tourism Resorts and also , the smaller category, of Condo Hotels.
All information included in the present does not constitute legal or business advice and shall not be interpreted as such
George Dimaras,
Lawyer Supreme Court of Athens
15 Stisihorou Street
