Free camping takes toll on private campgrounds, official says

The number of foreign visitors who checked in at Greece’s organized camping sites between January – September dropped from 210,151 in 2015 to 196,519 last year, according to data provided by the Panhellenic Camping Association. 

According to the same figures, the number of nights spent by foreign tourists at private campgrounds dropped from 782,981 to 770,806 over the same period.

Speaking to Kathimerini, the president of the association, Kostas Papadopoulos, said the decline was a result of the authorities’ failure to crack down on free camping. 

According to the association, a total of 297 campgrounds are currently operating in Greece that can host about 80,738 visitors. Most of them are located in the central Macedonia region.