12 January 2024 , 15:57
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A European capital is being overwhelmed by tourists who threaten to destroy one of the world's great wonders.
Conscious tourists concerned about travelling sustainably should avoid certain parts of Athens, according to a 'No Travel' list put together by Foders. The American outlet has argued that the Greek city is one of the many great historical settlements which is being eroded and damaged thanks to out of control tourism.
Having bounced back in terms of visitor numbers post-financial melt-down and coronavirus lockdowns, "there’s fear that if the surge of visitors continues unchecked, the most Athenian boroughs will culturally erode and physically disappear," Fodors writes.
Central to the concerns is the Acropolis, the biggest tourist attraction in Greece and arguably its most famous brick-and-mortar son. Each day close to 17,000 people visit the site, which is home to the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Propylaea entrance.
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The number of cruise ship tourists is also causing concern (Christian Science Monitor/Getty)According to the World Heritage Watch, a non-governmental organisation that supports UNESCO, too many people are visiting in too uncontrolled a way. This is causing damage to the stone of the building, which has "traces of the original primitive cults and pre-classical and post-classical monumental phases,” according to Dr. Tasos Tanoulas, architect, preservationist, and president of the Greek National Committee for the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
In the high season as many as 23,000 people a day trample over these hallowed rocks, eroding the foundations of what many consider to be the birthplace of democracy. It's become so crowded that a new visitor cap is being put in place later this year.
Despite a newly installed path designed to sort out the crowds, the hillside site is still chaotic, according to Dr Tanoulas. He said: “The crowds on the Acropolis are practically out of control, and damages to the Propylaia, which is the only way in and out the Acropolis plateau, have been officially reported."
Those who live down in the city itself say that laws designed to control tourism are not working. New hotels have been stopped from opening in old neighbourhoods like Plaka, but Airbnbs and rooftop bars have not. Some residents complain of having to use earplugs to fall asleep due to the pervasive sound of tourists having fun which rings out throughout the night.
Tina Kyriakis, founder of Alternative Athens, has seen the historic centre of the city become filled with Airbnbs, eateries, bars, cafes, restaurants.
She said: "And while there is nothing wrong with new venues opening–many are very interesting additions to the urban tissue–when these new venues push daily local life out of the city and no longer co-exist with the traditional aspects of Athenian life, the city loses its interest and becomes monothematic and consequently flat."
Another problem is that the tourists who are coming are doing so for such a short period of time. . In 2022, Athens saw 760 cruise ships dock up - a record amount for the city. On the busiest days of the year nine dock at any given time, collectively releasing tens of thousands of day trippers into the same few parts of the city.