ATHENS: The sales tax on goods and services at six major Greek Aegean Sea tourist destinations will rise 30 per cent this week as a new batch of creditor-demanded reforms kicks in.

Tourism-reliant Greece’s finance ministry says the increases will affect the islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Naxos, Paros and Skiathos, with the top bracket rising from 16 to 23 per cent on Thursday. The same will eventually apply to all Greek islands, which hitherto enjoyed a lower sales tax bracket than the mainland. That is being abolished under new economic reforms and public revenue-boosting measures agreed in July.

In exchange, international bailout creditors granted financially-struggling Greece a new rescue loan programme worth 86 billion euros ($96 billion). The finance ministry said on Monday it hopes to talk creditors into revoking the increase next year.