Greece introduces crowd control policies to save Acropolis

Greece will be introducing crowd control policies by the end of July to save the sacred Acropolis site from the impact of over-tourism reports the Guardian.

As recently reported by Greek City Times, in May alone this year, the Acropolis welcomed a staggering 14,000 visitors, marking a significant increase of about 70 percent compared to 2022.

“Measures will be fully enforced by the end of the month,” the country’s cultural minister, Lina Mendoni, announced last week. “Visits in June and early July alone increased by 80% compared to 2019.”

A time-slot system, fast-lane entry points for organised tourist groups and electronic ticketing are among the steps officials say will help alleviate visitor congestion.

“I have given instructions to find a way to be able to erect shades in places that are [not considered] sensitive,” said Mendoni, who spent much of her first week back in office – after her reappointment in the wake of general elections – witnessing the crowds at the Acropolis. “And at discreet points we’ll make sure there is water outside the site.”

According to Mendoni congestion at the Acropolis could be resolved by enlarging its majestic gateway.

“In antiquity there was more than one entrance [to the temples],” she said. “In my view the solution to … the bottleneck [of visitors at the entrance] would be the expansion of the Propylaia [gateway]. We can’t demolish the Propylaia but we can widen it.”