Overtourism is a growing problem for Athens and is having a big impact on the cultural sector of the Greek capital.
We now live in the era when tourism is a significant source of revenue for countries such as Greece. At present, serious problems have not yet fully emerged. But the expansion of Greek cultural brand name, tourism agreements between Greece and other non–European countries and the progress of museum practices and the visitor experience are going to motivate more and more tourists to visit certain areas of the country.
We have to recognise that heritage-based tourism has various consequences on cultural, physical and economical environments. Many of the issues surrounding the management of cultural resources for tourism are outlined in the 2011 book Cultural Heritage and Tourism by Dallen J Timothy.
Athens already welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, particularly during the summer months, and new apartments and hotels are being developed, often in the city centre, to enhance the experience of visitors.
Unfortunately, the uncontrolled flow of tourists can cause considerable pressure on the capital’s museums and monuments. Due to the decade-long financial crisis many cultural institutions operate with limited budgets, staff shortages and limited marketing capacity. The tourists who visit them represent an important source of revenue to the cultural sector, but they also increase the pressure placed on the cultural sector.
One example of the growing pressure caused by the overtourism concerns the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. According to an article written by Nikolas Zois, the Acropolis Museum can accommodate up to 10,000 visitors a day without overcrowding. But up to 18,000 on special occasions such as International Museum Day when admission is free.
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The situation is not yet critical, and cultural venues in Greece are already planning new admission systems, such as electronic ticketing to regulate visitor flows when necessary. Other measures aimed at improving the visitor experience and dealing with overtourism include staff training.
In many cases the main problem is not only tourism itself, but the country's excessive dependence on the industry, which undermines other sectors. Other countries facing overtourism, such as Spain, have already a strong productive and financial base, while Greece has lost some of its agricultural and manufacturing capacity as it has become a tourism-dependent economy.
A broader problem of overtourism is also emerging in Athens. Entire neighbourhoods are at risk of losing their authentical identity because of the uncontrolled tourist flows. Last year, about eight million tourists visited the city, placing considerable pressure on its infrastructure and contributing to rising prices.
Given that the total population of the city centre stands at around 700,000 inhabitants, the eight million annual visitors to the capital place particular pressures on certain historical areas such as Plaka, Syntagma, Kolonaki, while making increasingly difficult the everyday life of thousands of residents.
The challenges were outlined in an article in the Guardian in April 2026 by Helena Smith, who wrote: “For Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of the tourist season leaves much of its historic heart at risk of ‘over-saturation’. Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development.”
The mayor has announced measures aimed at regulating the intense tourist activity. However, unless these measures are effective, the problem of overtourism is going to worsen over the next few years.
Emmanouil Apostolos Rokas is a museologist and cultural heritage professional with an MA in religious art from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His interests include museums, cultural heritage, cultural tourism and visitor experience and he writes on museum, art and cultural topics
