Bedbug crisis warning in Athens ‘absolutely false’: hoax targeting foreign visitors to Greece using short-term rental flats under investigation by police
- Posters have been stuck up outside apartment buildings around Athens claiming health authorities have ordered local ‘private guest houses’ evacuated
- Police have been told ‘to do what is necessary’ about the hoax, intended to deter foreign tourists’ from short-term flat rentals – blamed for a housing shortage
Greece’s health ministry is seeking police help against hoaxers who tried to scare foreign tourists out of some Athens short-term rental flats by inventing a bedbug crisis.
A ministry statement on December 5 said posters stuck up outside flat buildings in the city centre, festooned with fake ministry and Athens municipality logos, were “absolutely false”.
The posters, addressed to “dear visitors” in misspelled English, claimed health authorities had ordered local “private guest houses” evacuated “to protect the public health of permanent Greek tenants”.
In addition to a cost-of-living crisis, Athens and other parts of Greece face housing problems largely caused by the proliferation of short-term rental flats – mainly for foreign visitors.
That has helped fuel a surge in long-term rental costs for Greeks, many of whom are priced out of residential areas in central Athens. Property values are also spiralling, in part because of a “golden visa” programme offering residence to foreign property investors.
Do we really need to panic about a bedbug ‘pandemic’? Of course not
Tourism is a key driver of Greece’s economy, accounting for a fifth of annual output, and 2023 is expected to have been a record year for arrivals.
The health ministry said that it had informed the police “to do what is necessary” about the hoax. It said that “nobody is allowed to terrorise and misinform the public” on public health issues.
