Greece Implements Visitor Number Cap for Acropolis in Athens

Government officials in Greece announced that only a certain number of travelers would be able to visit the Acropolis of Athens each day, starting next month.

According to The Associated Press, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said only 20,000 people each day would be able to witness the country’s most popular archaeological site, with the historic structure also implementing hourly entry limits.

Mendoni said as many as 23,000 people visit the Acropolis each day. As a result, Greece will implement a trial period for the cap on tourists on September 4, with plans to permanently institute the rule on April 1, 2024.

“That’s a huge number,” Mendoni said. “Obviously tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must work out how excessive tourism won’t harm the monument.”

While there will be no limits on how long people can stay at the archaeological site, Mendoni revealed that only 3,000 people will be allowed access from 8-9 a.m. local time, 2,000 during the next hour and the numbers will vary during the rest of the day.

“The measure will address the need to protect the monument, which is the main thing for us, as well as (improving) visitors’ experience of the site,” Mendoni continued.

Greek officials also revealed that similar traveler number caps will be imposed for other popular archaeological sites, based on government studies and feedback from tour and cruise operators serving the nation.

Last month, the country implemented several other crowd control measures, including time-slot scheduling requirements, special visitor zones to streamline traffic, fast-lane entry points for guided tourist groups and an electronic ticketing system.