Athens, at Acropolis clampdown on mass tourism: closed number introduced

Tightening up on mass tourism for theAcropolis in Athens, which will adopt a closed number starting in September. This was announced during an interview with radio station Real FM by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, reporting on the upcoming actions to journalist Giorgos Psaltis. Specifically, a pilot project developed following a study carried out by the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Assets - ODAP (a public body that manages the resources of state museums and takes care of their enhancement) will begin in September, with a cap of 20,000 daily visitors to the Acropolis. In 2022, the overall annual average had been 16,000 visitors per day, with peaks, however, exceeding 20,000 during peak tourist periods (during some particularly busy days as many as 23,000 visitors were touched: numbers that also pose security problems according to the minister).

Visitors will access the Acropolis by time slots, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (with the maximum number distributed by time slots: for example, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. 3,000 visitors will be allowed in, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. 2,000, and so on), and the new arrangements will apply to both individual visitors and groups. The culture minister also referred to measures to protect visitors during the heat wave, noting that blackout curtains have been installed at the entrances, which will probably be reused next year, but with the necessary care that the space requires.

Lina Mendoni also spoke about the phenomenon of scalping with “skip the line” service, evidently a problem not only in Italy, but also in Greece: the minister stressed that this is a deception to the public, as such a thing cannot be implemented, due to the nature of the monument. Mendoni noted that it has been found that the barcode of specific tickets has been altered, which has prompted ODAP to take the necessary legal action. “Precisely because we have seen that quite often such phenomena occur, that is, visitors equipped with tickets, which are sold, by private individuals, at a higher price than the ticket to visit the Acropolis, we have recently issued a notice pointing out that due to the nature of the Propylaea, you cannot ’skip the line,’” said the culture minister.

The pilot project will run from September to March. Then from April 1, 2024, with the start of the new tourist season, it will go into effect permanently. “We had, three weeks ago, a meeting with all the professionals who converse with visitors, with tourist offices, tour guides, cruise lines, and we confronted with them, also because we are in the middle of the tourist season, at the peak I would say, and we should not particularly disrupt their programming.” And it was precisely from the discussion with the operators that the need to start on September 1 with the new rules emerged.

Athens, at Acropolis clampdown on mass tourism: closed number introduced

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