No new tourist beds on Paros: nearly 3,900 signatures, and a council meeting on the way
The petition “No new tourist beds on Paros” has gathered 3,859 signatures since its launch on 8 August 2026, against a target of 5,000. A special session of the Municipal Council, devoted to this single issue, will be held on 18 November. If you have not signed yet, now is the time.
What the petition asks
The petition was initiated by the Paros Citizens’ Movement and co-signed by the Friends of Paros & Antiparos, the Lefkes association ΜΕΕΑΣ Yria, and the Progressive Association of Lefkians in Athens. It makes one demand: that the final Local Urban Plan (ΤΠΣ) for Paros contain no provision for new tourist accommodation.
It is addressed to the General Secretariat for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, to the Mayor of Paros, Konstantinos Bizas, and the Municipal Council, and to the Members of Parliament for the Cyclades.
Why it matters
The ΤΠΣ will set land use on Paros for the next 20 years or more. It is being drawn up by a consultancy commissioned by the Ministry, without taking account of the proposals submitted by the Municipality and by residents. The draft allows hotels of up to 100 beds across much of the coastal zone, above the 80-bed ceiling of the old General Urban Plan.
The plan’s own Carrying Capacity Study puts the resident-to-visitor indicator at 2.31, above the critical threshold of 2.00. That figure does not even count beds recently opened, under construction or already licensed. Paros already receives around one million visitors a year. Water, waste management, roads and parking are at their limits, and this summer’s fire, which destroyed centuries-old junipers, was a direct consequence of failing waste management.
The petition is not against tourism. Tourism is how the island makes its living, which is exactly why it cannot be allowed to destroy itself. Most new beds belong to large chains and investment funds whose guests stay inside the resort, while small guesthouses, tavernas and family-run rooms are left competing with them.
Progress so far
- 3,859 signatures as of 28 October 2026, 77% of the 5,000 target
- Nearly 1,400 comments across the three language versions, from residents, people across Greece and long-time visitors from across Europe
- Available in English, Greek and French
A special council meeting
At the request of the Paros Citizens’ Movement, a special session of the Paros Municipal Council, on the single topic of the urgency of immediately stopping new tourist beds, will be held on 18 November. This is where the petition’s weight will count: every additional signature strengthens the case put to the Council and, through it, to the Ministry. We will share the time and venue as soon as they are confirmed.
Sign and share
If you have not signed yet, it takes a minute: openpetition.org/nomorebeds. If you have, please forward it to friends and family who care about Paros, and join us at the Council meeting on 18 November.
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