A EUROPEAN holiday hotspot popular with Brits has announced a major rule change, as they slash the number of visitors allowed at a popular attraction.
Greece has planned hourly caps on a famous historical landmark in a bid to reduce overcrowding.
Visits to the Acropolis of Athens, one of Greece's most popular archaeological sites will be capped from next month at a maximum of 20,000 tourists daily, the Greek government said on Wednesday.
Up to 23,000 people have been squeezing into the ancient monument, according to Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, who said the measures were being put in place to prevent excessive crowding.
“That’s a huge number,” Mendoni told a local radio network.
“Obviously tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must work out how excessive tourism won’t harm the monument".
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The new caps will be put in place on a trial basis from September 4 and will come into permanent effect from April 1, 2024, the minister added.
Although there will be no planned limits on how long the visits last, Mendoni said that travellers who come with organised tours account for around 50 per cent of the daily visitor count and spend an average of 45 minutes at the site.
Different numbers of visitors will be allowed in hourly during the site's 8am to 8pm opening hours.
But the new measures will see 3,000 people granted access from 8am to 9am, 2,000 during the following hour, with the numbers varying during the rest of the day.
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“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 said.
Similar restrictions will also be put in place for other popular archaeological sites across the country after more than three million tourists were recorded to have visited the Acropolis last year.
Greek authorities closed the site and other similar structures during midday hours last month due to the blazing heatwave and severe wildfires.
They also installed verandas as sun protection for tourists queuing up to see the World Heritage site.
Mendoni said these steps would be repeated, if necessary.
This comes after seaside resort chiefs in Spain issued a holiday warning to Brits who could be fined £1,200 for taking a nap on the beach.
And smoking has been banned at another popular Spanish beach as the tough crackdown on cigarettes continues at the popular holiday hotspot.
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