Greece’s Ministry of Tourism announced yesterday a new certification for businesses in Greece offering ‘glamping’ accommodation services. The new certification seal is said to follow the Greek tourism product adaptation for the best ways to service the demand for emerging global tourism trends.
For those unfamiliar, glamping is an international trend for camping with all the amenities you’d expect from a luxury resort. Businesses offering glamping services are generally located in rural areas, and which present different types of accommodations to blend in harmoniously with the natural environment.
Hobbit Knoll (at left), at Treehouses of Serenity in Asheville, NC, USA, is an innovative example of “glamping” without the pretentiousness. There’s something very attractive about being in the woods and in the lap of luxury at the same time.
Greece’s tourism ministry offered this statement on the news:
“Greece is one of the few countries that has already directly legislated the glamping tourism form, which is a new trend of holidaying in nature within facilities that resemble those of a five-star hotel.”
According to the announcement, this certification seal is granted by the ministry to tourist accommodation of at least three stars (hotels or camping businesses) and has a five-year duration. The criteria for qualification include:
- Offering glamping accommodation options of various types and sizes in well-equipped campsites or semi-permanent structures of high-quality architectural design, which can be assembled and disassembled or transported, such as domes and yurts.
- Adapting camping facilities and semi-permanent structures within the natural environment with the least possible intervention (without damaging it or disturbing habitats).
- Using environmentally friendly materials when setting up glamping accommodation services.
- And promoting thematic tourism activities – special forms of tourism.
The new program for certifying “glamping” as a service is included in Greek Law 4688/2020. The new law is an amendment to a 2015 decision, which defined “the technical and operational specifications of organized tourist campsites”.
The tourism ministry says those interested in offering glamping services will now know the exact details that concern their investment.
Source: GTP
