Photo Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
Visitors can be flock to Europe this summerbut the number of people who can visit GreeceThe country’s most famous archaeological site will soon be capped at 20,000 per day.
On Wednesday, the Greek government announced that visits to Acropolis in Athens will be limited to this quota next month and subject to entry time limits based on time of day.
According to Associated PressGreek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said the new controls are necessary to avoid bottlenecks and overcrowding. The monument complex welcomed up to 23,000 people a day to the UNESCO World Heritage site, most of them part of large groups arriving before noon.
Related Articles
“The measure will respond to the need to protect the monument, which is the main thing for us, as well as (improve) the visitor experience at the site,” Mendoni told the Associated Press.
Mendoni called it a “huge number” in an interview with Real FM radio channel. “Obviously, tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must ensure that excessive tourism does not harm the monument.”
The Culture Minister said a trial for the new entry limits will begin on September 4 and the limits will become permanent on April 1, 2024. Although there is no limit on the length of time that the While visitors can pass through the UNESCO World Heritage site, Mendoni noted that people participating in tour groups and cruise ship excursions make up about half of daily visitors. These visitors, she said, spend an average of 45 minutes at the Acropolis.
Visitor quotas will vary during the hours the Acropolis is open to the public (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). With about half of the site’s foot traffic arriving between 8 a.m. and noon, 3,000 people will have access during the first hour, 2,000 during the second, and varying volumes the rest of the day.
Climate change is also a growing concern. While more than 3 million people visited the Acropolis last year and the Greek economy relies heavily on tourism to its ancient sites, authorities still closed access to several popular attractions last month to protect tourists from an “unprecedented heat wave”. Temperatures reached 118°F (48°C)prompting the distribution of 30,000 bottles of water and the creation of shaded areas in the Golden Age temples.
