Negotiations on limiting visitors to the Acropolis began before the pandemic, but were suspended when tourism declined in 2020.
A new solution to the problem of overtourism is being tried for the Athens Acropolis. The Greek government introduced a timed ticket system for the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and also imposed a limit of 20 thousand visitors.
The new "Visitor Zones" program requires visitors to book a time slot through the online platform. When visitors arrive at the area, they will scan the QR code on their tickets and will be able to enter during the time allocated to them.
Ticket prices are the same as before the new system started. 20 euros for general admission, 10 euros for non-EU citizens aged 6-25 and EU seniors aged over 65. Tickets are free for under-5s and EU citizens up to 25-years-old.
According to the e-ticket website, visitors must arrive at the entrance 30 minutes before their scheduled time slot. Ticketed customers will be allowed to enter from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the scheduled time.
Athens Walking Tours CEO and co-founder Ioannis Giannakakis said that the system was successful, but there were difficulties on the first day of implementation. Giannakakis said people came to the site unaware of the change and had tickets they had previously purchased from other websites.
Reminding that the Greek tourism industry has been discussing solutions to excessive tourism for years, Giannakakis said that negotiations on limiting visitors to the Acropolis began before the pandemic, but were suspended when tourism declined in 2020.
The World Travel and Tourism Council expects Greece to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni recently said that visits to the Acropolis in June and early July increased by 80 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The area was also closed to visitors during the sweltering heat this summer.