Visits to the Acropolis in Athens Generate €60 Million in 2023

Visits to the Acropolis in Athens in 2023 generated 60 million euros in revenues, said Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni this week.

“Following the upgrade last year of all services and the e-ticketing system, established in 2018, revenues from visits to the Acropolis are constantly increasing… from 46 million euros in 2022 to 60 million euros in 2023,” she said addressing parliament this week.

Mendoni was responding to a question posed concerning plans to manage crowds at archaeological sites, including the introduction last fall of special visitor zones aimed at easing tourist traffic to the Acropolis, an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Referring to an increase in admission fees to archaeological sites, monuments and museums, Mendoni said the new pricing policy will go into effect in April 2025, “so that tour operators and visitors are not taken by surprise”.

Visitors outside the east entrance to the Acropolis.

The minister said that the new ticketing policy “does nothing more than follow the logic and good practices of other European countries, although prices, compared to those for corresponding monuments elsewhere are still significantly lower in Greece”.

 She went on to add that the new pricing policy “serves the societal nature of a cultural asset while increasing revenues for the Cultural Resources Management and Development Organization (ODAP) with the aim of reinvesting funds into cultural projects and actions”.

The Greek culture ministry will be updating its pricing policy for some 350 sites and museums under its supervision in view of increasing traffic and the availability of electronic ticketing options. Mendoni has repeatedly said  that tickets to Greek sites are already very low compared to the European average.