The Greek government is implementing crowd control measures to combat overtourism at the Acropolis in Athens.
This follows countries such as France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Hawaii and Croatia’s implementation of legislated measures to regulate visits at popular sites.
The 3 300-year-old Acropolis Unesco World Heritage Site has struggled to withstand the unprecedented numbers of post-pandemic sightseers, says travelpulse.com.
According to theguardian.com, rowdy queues of people at the foot of the monument and unruly scenes at its gateway have spurred the government to act.
Last week, Cultural Minister, Lina Mendoni, announced that measures would be enforced by the end of the month, as she had seen visits increase by 80% in June and early this month compared with 2019.
Measures to be implemented include time-slot scheduling, special visitor zones, fast-lane entry points for guided tours and an electric ticketing system.
These will also apply to cruise ship passengers, as Lysandros Tsilidis, President of the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist and Travel Agencies, is concerned that larger cruise ships are exacerbating the problem.
