Greece: an application to regulate access to beaches

More and more Greeks are annoyed by the high costs of beach equipment rental. A new app has been launched by the authorities to denounce irregularities.

More free space and easier access to Greek beaches: this is what the “Beach Towel Movement”launched last year by a collective of citizens.

They denounced the high prices imposed by bars and other beach businesses for the rental of deckchairs and other equipment, leaving little or no room for people to enjoy the sea for free.

This summer, the Greek government wants to put an end to these practices by setting up a mobile application. Called MyCoast, this allows holidaymakers to report any abuse and irregularity.

“As far as I can remember, this is the first time that the public can see where the organized beaches are located, that is, those that are legally rented by the Greek state. We have prepared the application by guaranteeing total transparency Any citizen can download the application on their mobile phone, on any smartphone, and they can see with a small circle the entire map of our country and all the information. beaches where there is a legal lease” explains Dimosthenis Anagnostopoulos, Secretary General for Information Systems and Digital Governance

Thousands of Greeks have already downloaded the application and reported abuses. For the Greek authorities, guaranteeing free access to beaches constitutes a constant and major challenge. There are already nearly 10,000 reports of irregularities. It is more difficult to monitor whether businesses are following the law on weekends and during the midday rush hour, when thousands of people flock to beaches in search of coolness despite high temperatures.

“All these lounge chairs are a huge problem, we don’t have space to sit with our own chairs, if there is space it is too small. Some companies have limited the space that they occupy, but most of them are content to respect the law when there are inspections” explains a Greek holidaymaker.

The application is also available for tourists who have just arrived. The features are only in Greek at the moment, but an English version should be launched soon.