Tourism Business in Greece

Piperakis Kostopoulos Law Firm has a long-standing expertise in the provision of legal services to tourism businesses. Tourism is the heavy industry of Greece. However, it is an industry extremely sensitive to stimuli from both domestic and foreign sources. The main branch of this industry is hotels and tourist accommodation in general. Equally important are travel agencies and shipbrokers, while medical tourism, scientific tourism, business tourism, conference tourism, agro-tourism and winter tourism are also growing branches of the industry. These are promising businesses, but they need to be built on a solid foundation in order to be able to recover from the initial investment and sustain it over time, so that it can be paid off and economic growth can follow.

In summary, the points of legal coverage are:

• Notification of operation and obtaining operating permits from the competent bodies.
• The conclusion of mixed contracts for the lease and construction of real estate between the owner-lessor and the lessee-entrepreneur.
• The legal form of the business based on the needs, specifics and business plan.
• The type of shareholding composition of the company.
• The bodies representing the company and the powers they have under the articles of association and the law.
• Staffing and human resources.
• The ownership or tenancy of the holding’s property together with the licenses for its use.
• Corporate identity and the protection of the intangible assets of the business, such as the trademark, the brand name, the domain name and any other distinctive feature that identifies it and distinguishes it from the competition.
• The protection of the property (real estate and fixed assets) of the company and the entrepreneur.
• Employment contracts with staff and the drawing up of internal regulations for the operation of the enterprise.
• Business secrets and the protection of personal data (GDPR) either in relation to staff or partners or finally in relation to third party customers or not.
• The privacy settings, disclaimers, cookies and the terms governing the company’s website and e-shop if it has one.
• Digital marketing especially through social media and newsletters.
• The protection of intellectual creations, invention, patent.
• Protecting the structure and the way the business is run and organized.
• Corporate governance, the articles of association and the company’s compliance obligations vis-à-vis the competent authorities and bodies, as well as professional associations and other regulatory bodies.
• Drawing up commercial contracts with partners or third parties, defining the individual obligations and complying with them.
• The solvency of the company and its stakeholders.
• The solvency check of partners and other counterparties of the company.
• Protection before the Courts, the authorities and competent bodies and before professional associations and other entities.
• Preventive counselling and safety measures.
• Cooperation with auditors, certified real estate appraisers, notaries, accountants, brokers, engineers and with credit institutions and supervisory bodies.
  The conclusion of contracts for the transport of people and contracts with tourist accommodation (including allotment contracts, etc.).

Indicatively, the companies that have entrusted us, operate as follows:

• Hotels & Tourist Accommodation
• Agencies – Tourist Offices
• Special Tourism
• Freight Forwarders

Piperakis – Kostopoulos Law Firm has the experience and expertise to advise you and protect you in advance or after the risk has occurred. The issues raised above fall within the scope of our skills, which is a guarantee of our proper handling of the matter you entrust to us.