Will hotel pools in Greece soon be filled with seawater?

A radical change is being proposed for the tourism industry in Greece: hotel pools on the coast could be filled with salt water instead of fresh water in the future. The aim? To conserve the precious fresh water reserves, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to a prolonged drought.

According to «Euronews», the hotels would not be forced to fill their pools with seawater, but the proposed regulations would make it easier for them to build the appropriate infrastructure if water consumption is restricted.

Elena Rapti, the deputy tourism minister, defends the proposal. «The aim is, of course, to conserve water resources», she says. The figures speak for themselves: according to a study by the National Observatory of Athens, annual precipitation in Greece has fallen by around twelve per cent in the last 50 years. The Aegean islands and Crete have been particularly hard hit, with precipitation levels falling by a fifth.

What was intended as an environmentally friendly solution has caused a stir. Many holidaymakers could be disturbed by salt water in pools, and experts also warn that the chemically treated water pumped back into the sea could damage sensitive ecosystems. In addition, the construction of pipelines could affect the seabed.

Skeptics point to the figures: pools account for only about six percent of the available fresh water on islands like Mykonos. Critics, therefore, question whether the problem is being overestimated. Despite these concerns, the Greek government plans to move forward with the measure, as the 2025 tourist season is fast approaching and 33 million travelers will need to be accommodated.