The indications of a study prepared by the Attica Region and to be officially presented in about a month point to a possible exhaustion of the carrying capacity of the infrastructure for the central sector of Athens if appropriate measures are not taken.
At the same time, in the Eastern Attica Region, which comes 2nd in visitor numbers with approximately 2.5 million overnight stays per year, the Total Occupancy Index (only hotel units) is less than 70%. Consequently, there is no possibility of exhaustion of the carrying capacity in a reasonable period of time in this region.
As for the Islands Region, which comes 3rd in visitor numbers with approximately 1.3 million nights per year, the Total Occupancy Index (only hotel units) receives values lower than 50%, which indicates that there is no possibility of exhaustion of the carrying capacity in a reasonable period of time. Corresponding data also emerge for the Southern Sector of Attica, while for the Western Sector, there is no issue of exhaustion of the carrying capacity.
There is no issue of over-tourism
In essence, with the present data, there is no issue of overtourism in the Regional Unit of the Central Sector of Athens. Only the center of Athens has a burden that is being addressed with appropriate measures, as Dimitris Fragakis, president of the Development Organization of the Attica Region, New Metropolitan Attica S.A., emphasizes in Tornos News.
“We want an effective tourism policy for Attica that will have economic benefits for society but will also protect its urban and natural environment. That is why we are preparing a carrying capacity study in order to stand on solid ground in terms of drawing up our strategy and undertaking specific initiatives. Tourism is a central development pillar of the wider Athens region and its sustainability, environmental and social, is a priority for the Region”, notes Mr. Fragakis, among other things, and adds that the present study is being updated with the data for 2024 and will be officially made public in the coming period.
Measures for the management of the tourist destination of Athens
With regard to the main proposed Measures / Interventions for the management of the tourist destination of Athens (Center and Metropolitan) based on its carrying capacity and its goals in relation to its tourist development, these are the following:
Strategic Planning Study
Involvement of interested/involved bodies and citizens of local communities affected by tourism (bottom-up approach)
Actions to support local entrepreneurship and local society
Development of a Central Smart Visitor Monitoring System (Smart Control Room)
Digital applications for monitoring, managing, and informing tourist flows
Economic / Fiscal Measures
Improvement of Urban Mobility
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