Greece’s Ministry of Culture has announced its plans to launch private guided group tours of the Acropolis for a hefty price and is now receiving backlash for the exclusive pricing.
“It’s plain elitist,” Costas Zambas, the civil engineer consultant who headed restoration works at the Acropolis for over 25 years, told The Guardian.
The group tours, which will cost €5 000 (R99 000), will accommodate groups of up to five people and offer access to the site from 07h00 to 09h00 and 20h00 to 22h00.
The proposed measure, part of an overhaul of ticketing policy for more than 350 historic sites and museums managed by the Ministry of Culture, has travellers, tour guides and historians up in arms.
Tour guides have described the tours as highly exclusive and contradictory to the archaeological site’s value as a symbol of democracy.
“What this says is Greece is willing to give people who have money the ability to enjoy the Acropolis in a very exclusive way while leaving out those who simply don’t have such means. We’re utterly opposed to it,” Despina Koutsoumba, VP of Greece’s Archaeologists’ Association, told The Guardian.
Previously, only world leaders, royalty and an occasional celebrity had been granted access to the site outside of opening hours. Furthermore, the public, excluding academics and preservationists, have one day per year – the August full moon – to savour the temples at night.
The previous head of the Panhellenic Federation of Tourist Guides, Kriton Piperas, noted that the tours would delay opening hours from 08h00 to 09h00. Piperas pointed out that reducing the opening hours would lead to increased congestion, as the same number of visitors would need to be accommodated in less time. This decision also goes against recommendations to open early and discourage midday visits due to the health risks associated with high temperatures in the region.
