In protection of her monument Acropolis and the upgrade of the visitor’s experience, mentioned the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni. The occasion is the start of the 12-hour traffic zone program, from Monday, September 4.
The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, in an interview she gave to Alpha, pointed out that the goals of the visitation program at the Acropolis are to avoid the accumulation of people and the best quality time during the public tour of the monument.
Stressing that the main concern of the Ministry of Culture is the protection of the Acropolis monument, Ms. Mendoni referred to the study by the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources (ODAP), from which it appears that the daily number of visitors cannot exceed 20,000, distributed in a certain number per one hour zone.
At the same time, the minister noted that the study has taken into account the time of stay and exit of the visitors, in order to avoid an excessive number of parallel visits, especially in the morning hours, during which a large accumulation has been observed.
As a result of this distribution, the visitor will be able to benefit from more quality time during his tour, enriching his information about the area and its history.
Lina Mendoni: The “cutter” of 20,000 visitors daily
“At the Ministry of Culture, because its main purpose is precisely the protection of the monument itself, we decided to limit the number (of visitors per day) to 20,000. From there, the working hours from 08:00 to 20:00, which apply today, have been divided into 12 hourly traffic zones.
Each zone has a certain number of visitors.
For example, the zone 08:00-09:00 AM. it has 3,000 people. 3,000+1 guests cannot enter. This results in visitors having a greater opportunity to properly tour and enjoy this major monument,” said the minister, who also referred to the use of the visitor zone program by tourism professionals, who usually manage a large number of visitors (groups).
Mrs. Mendoni emphasized that from July until the first days of September, there have been systematic meetings of the tourism professionals with officials of ODAP and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens, in order to be informed and adapt to the new process.
“The program is online. Therefore, you can, at any time, enter and see the available availability. The goal is to avoid the crowding that happened until yesterday, with 50% of visitors wanting to go up to the Acropolis between 08:00 and 11:00 a.m. This was problematic for the monument, but also for them, because , in fact, a “bottle neck” is created in the area of ​​the Propylaea.
Therefore, with the existence of the zones and a strictly defined number which has been studied and gives a continuous flow, not only in the archaeological site, but also in the Propylaea, it automatically makes the visitor’s experience much more positive”, noted the minister, who was also asked about the serious issue of the theft of antiquities from the British Museum.
Lina Mendoni for the British Museum
With reference to the scandal of the theft of antiquities from the British Museum, Lina Mendoni emphasized that it is a very special issue, given that it is an act that comes from people who were responsible for guarding the collections. At the same time, he noted, once again, that the request for the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures, which is a national goal for the government and the prime minister personally, coincides chronologically with the beginning of the new Greek state. It has been lasting for 200 years.
“Strategy that is announced, ceases to be strategy” he said and added:
“One cannot present what one is thinking of doing. But I categorically repeat that Greece is currently following absolutely the red lines that have been set for this major national issue, not being able, under any circumstances, to recognize any right of ownership, jurisdiction and possession in the British Museum, as the sculptures of the Parthenon they are there as a product of theft”, pointed out, among other things, the Minister of Culture.
The article Lina Mendoni announced “Kofti” to the 20,000 visitors a day at the Acropolis was published on NewsIT .
