As throngs of summer tourists arrive in Greece, the country has decided to limit the number of visitors to the Acropolis to 20,000 visitors per day. In 2022, the number of annual visitors reached three million.
“It’s a huge number,” Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told radio station Real FM. “Tourism is obviously desirable for the country, for all of us. But we have to find a way to prevent tourism from damaging the monument.”
The influx of visitors – an 80% increase over June and early July 2019 and the same period this year – has led to concerns about the long-term preservation of the ancient citadel, most famous for housing the Parthenon temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena.
From September 4, the government-imposed quota will include hourly entry limits based on the time of day. Currently, about half of visitors arrive before noon in large groups from cruise ships and other organized tours, spending about 45 minutes at the Acropolis.
“In the past, these cruise ships had the capacity to transport a few thousand, the population of a large village,” Lysandros Tsilidis, president of the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist and Travel Agencies, told Greek Reporter. “Now the vessels are so big that they are the size of a small state on board and at least 30% of all passengers will have pre-purchased tickets to visit the Acropolis.”
With the new measures, 3,000 visitors will be admitted when the monument opens at 8am, with a further 2,000 spaces at 9am and varying capacity throughout the day. The Acropolis closes at 9pm.
“The measure will meet the need to protect the monument, which is the main one for us, as well as [improve] the experience of visitors at the site,” said Mendoni, who is a classical archaeologist.
Source: Artnet News