New Rules For Visiting The Acropolis To Be Implemented

Greece will limit the number of people who may visit the Acropolis each hour, and daily admission will be capped at 20,000.

Lina Mendoni, the country's Minister of Culture, has defended the measures as necessary to avoid traffic jams and excessive tourism at the World Heritage site, as there have been as many as 23,000 visitors to the monument every day, with the majority coming in huge groups before midday.

Starting September, a maximum of 20,000 visitors per day would be permitted to enter the Acropolis of Athens, Greece's most visited ancient monument, with access limitations varied by the hour.

According to Mendoni, bringing in tourists is good for business and the economy, which benefits everyone. Nevertheless, officials must find out how excessive tourists won't ruin the monument.

The ministry has announced that the new entrance limitations would be tested beginning September 4 and made permanent beginning April 1, 2024.

Although there will be no time restriction on visits, the minister has said that the average time spent at the site by the half of the day's visitors that arrive on scheduled tours or cruise ships is 45 minutes.

The location will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with varying admission limits every hour. Officials have estimated that half of the Acropolis' visitors come between 8 a.m. and noon. The new approach will let 3,000 individuals in between 8 and 9 a.m., 2,000 in the next hour, and varying numbers throughout the day.

“The measure will address the need to protect the monument, which is the main thing for us, as well as improving visitors’ experience of the site,” Mendoni explained.

The minister warned that other prominent archaeological sites will be subject to similar visitor limits. She also noted that the decision about the Acropolis was postponed owing to the Greek general election on June 25th, which followed talks with tour and cruise companies.

The Greek Central Bureau of Statistics reports that over 3 million individuals visited the site in 2022.

 

Source: apnews.com