Greece is limiting visitors to Acropolis. Yes, Europe is tired of overtourism

Overtourism and heatwaves are proving to be challenging to Europe's iconic landmarks. Greece is the latest country to pilot tourism control measures. Greek authorities are putting a cap on daily visitors to Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Athens. 

• Only 20,000 visitors will be allowed each day to visit the 2,500-year-old monument in Athens, that too with hourly limits. 
• The entry limits will be tested from September 4 and are expected to permanently come into effect starting April 1, 2024. 

What do the new entry limits state?

• Under the new limits, 3,000 people will be allowed to visit between 8-9 am; 2,000 visitors during the next hour and the numbers will keep varying for the following day. 
• Currently, around 23,000 people visit Acropolis daily, and over half of the traffic arrives between 8 am and noon. 
• The monument is open from 8 am to 8 pm.
• There will be no limit on how long visitors can spend at the monument. On average, visitors who come with organised groups spend about 45 minutes at the site.

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Why?

• Several places in Europe have been suffering from overtourism. There are fears that overtourism can damage fragile historic sites.
• There are also concerns about the impact it has on the local population, culture, and the health and safety of the visitors themselves. 

• Athens also had to take into account the extreme weather conditions of recent times. Last month, Greece had to limit visiting hours to the Acropolis due to heatwaves and people fainting from the heat. 

It's not just Greece that's limiting visitors, the Louvre in Paris also limited visitors to 30,000 per day following overtourism. Italy has implemented online reservation system and an entry fee for tourists in certain places like Sardinia to control the crowd. In other places in Italy, loitering too long at a place, clicking selfies and sitting on ancient sites are all subject to fines. 

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