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Optimism about Greek tourism is greatly exaggerated

02 September 2013 / 16:09:25  GRReporter
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According to the tourist guide, the problem of concentration of a large number of tourists is related to the deterioration of the image of Athens as a tourist destination in recent years. "That is why the majority of the companies have reduced the time of stay in Athens. They stay in Istanbul for almost two days whereas their stay in Piraeus is 5-6 hours during which the tourists must visit the Acropolis. Until very recently, namely until the end of June, the Acropolis closed at 3:00 pm over the weekend. How could a foreign company schedule a visit in the afternoon since it does not know whether the site will be open? As a result, thousands of tourists from the ships concentrate at the Acropolis between 8 am and 11 am. We cannot require the companies to schedule their trips when the country itself is not scheduling anything. This is not a serious approach, especially when we claim that tourism is our ‘heavy’ industry." According to Kriton Piperas, other sites in the countryside have many problems related to infrastructure and to the normal stay of visitors, including opening hours, cleanliness, the condition and lack of sanitary facilities.

He warns that the attitude of Greece's neighbouring countries towards tourists is very different and Greece cannot rely on the fact that it will be a favourite destination forever just because of its history and natural beauty. "I am talking about Turkey. Despite the large number of arriving cruise ships I have never noticed concentration of tourists at the archaeological site of Ephesus, for example. Even when 50 buses arrive simultaneously, the visitors line up but they have their tickets and are being serviced normally whereas the option of buying group tickets for the Acropolis is absent here. This cannot be the face of a European country."

According to Kriton Piperas, the efforts should be directed towards providing appropriate infrastructure and good service. "If their level is high the tourist will not mind waiting in line to see the Acropolis. We should once and for all decide whether we want tourism in Athens and take action in this direction."

 

Tags: EconomyTourismthe AcropolisVisitorsCruise tourismArchaeological sitesTourist guides
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