Greece, from September, will stagger and cap visitors to the Acropolis, its most-visited site, to reduce massive queues and bottlenecks at peak hours, the culture ministry said on August 2.
The new time-slot system would be introduced on a “trial basis” on September 4, it said in a statement.
Daily visits at the monument will also be capped at 20,000, and visitors will be assigned to hourly time slots during the 12 hours that the Acropolis is open each day, it said.
Greece to cap number of visitors to the Acropolis
The move is designed to protect the 2,500-year-old monument and “improve the experience for visitors,” the ministry said, noting that up to 23,000 people turned up at the Acropolis in recent weeks.
A similar system at other Greek archaeological sites will be introduced from April 1, 2024, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told Real FM radio.
According to the Greek state statistics agency Elstat, over three million people visited the Acropolis last year, up from 1.2 million in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Authorities in July repeatedly limited visiting hours at the Acropolis, as the country sweltered under a two-week heatwave.
Greece is counting on tourism to boost its economy after its near-decade debt crisis. Officials hope to exceed the 31.3 million arrivals recorded in 2019, a record year for the country.
Tourist numbers visiting Greece are ticking up to levels rivalling pre-pandemic times as the world witnesses a resurgence in demand for leisure travel.
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This story was published via AFP Relaxnews
(Hero and feature image credit: Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP©)
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