Mayors from the Cyclades, one of the most iconic island groups in the Mediterranean, are calling for a ban on large-scale tourism projects designated as “strategic investments,” arguing that they are transforming the islands into real estate developments at the expense of their environment and local communities.
In a joint decision, the island leaders warn that these projects are not genuinely productive in economic terms. Instead, they say, they are driven primarily by real estate interests, often involving luxury villas and resort-style housing rather than traditional tourism infrastructure. By allowing the consolidation of large land areas outside existing urban zones, the projects effectively create new settlements that are disconnected from the scale, character, and landscape of the Cyclades.
The move reflects growing concern in Greece about whether policies designed to attract investment during the country’s financial crisis are still appropriate for regions that are already heavily developed and, in some cases, overwhelmed by tourism. The Cyclades, which include globally known destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos, are among the areas facing the greatest pressure.
The decision was taken by the collective body representing municipalities in the South Aegean region, following a proposal by the mayor of Thira, the island internationally known as Santorini. In his submission, he argues that in recent years the framework for strategic tourism investments has become a tool for undermining the natural, cultural, and social fabric of the islands. According to the mayors, the legal mechanisms governing these projects allow developers to bypass local authorities, ignore environmental limits and infrastructure capacity, and prioritize private profit over the public interest.
They describe a pattern that has become increasingly visible across the Cyclades. Large-scale developments are emerging in rural, non-zoned areas, particularly on small and medium-sized islands, using special planning instruments created by national legislation. These instruments allow developers to build extensive tourism complexes without following standard urban planning rules, often resulting in settlements that resemble new towns rather than hotels or small-scale tourism facilities.
Several examples are cited to illustrate the issue. On the island of Ios, around 30 percent of the land is reported to have been acquired by a single investor through projects classified as strategic investments, despite objections from the local municipal council. On Milos, construction at Sarakiniko, a coastal area known internationally for its dramatic white rock formations, sparked widespread criticism. The case exposed failures to comply with court rulings and ultimately forced the authorities to revoke a building permit, although the landscape had already been damaged. On Sikinos, by contrast, the local government took a firm stand by imposing strict building limits and openly rejecting what it described as uncontrolled development.
Santorini itself, one of Europe’s most visited islands, has also taken a clear position. Its mayor has stated that the municipality opposes the inclusion of any new projects under the strategic investment regime, arguing that the island has already exceeded its capacity to absorb further large-scale development without serious consequences for residents and the environment.
With their decision, the mayors are calling for an immediate suspension of licensing procedures for strategic investments that do not have the consent of local communities. They are demanding a legally binding role for municipalities in the approval process and insisting that no project should move forward without an assessment of environmental limits, infrastructure capacity, and compatibility with existing spatial planning.
More broadly, they are urging the Greek government to reconsider the entire policy framework. This includes examining whether the strategic investment regime should be abolished in island regions altogether and whether development models that combine tourism with large-scale real estate should be banned in fragile island environments.
“The Cycladic islands are not blank spaces for monumental business plans,” the mayor of Santorini concludes. “They are living places, with communities, history, and landscapes that cannot be replaced.”
The legal framework under scrutiny was introduced gradually during Greece’s financial crisis in the early 2010s, when attracting investment was seen as an urgent national priority. A series of laws established fast-track approval procedures, special spatial planning tools, and incentives for large tourism-residential developments. While these measures were designed to stimulate growth during a period of economic emergency, Cyclades mayors now argue that they are ill-suited to islands already under intense development pressure and risk undermining the very qualities that make the region attractive to visitors in the first place.
