Athens is expected to welcome 10 million tourists this year, said the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, speaking on the TV show “Atairistoi” on SKAI and to journalists Christos Koutras and Yiannis Ntsounos.
“We are now a destination”, stressed Mr. Doukas. “We should also be a sustainable destination. We are looking for balance”.
“Do you know which are the most difficult months for Athens? September, October, because we have too many tourists, but the residents have also returned from vacation. And now it is very difficult, in May we are incredibly full”, said the Mayor of Athens.
Other points from Mr. Doukas’ interview:
On cleanliness
Cleanliness is a very difficult and critical issue. We have an application, Novoville, where we see the requests of the city’s residents and the complaints. This year, compared to the first 5 months of last year, we are recording half as many and even fewer. So, according to the numbers, it seems that we are doing well. In the Commercial Triangle, we collect waste 7-8 times a day in the summer. In the Acropolis, 3-4 times, even at 1:30 in the afternoon, so that the bins do not fill up, so that they do not smell. What do we need to do here? More underground bins. Archaeology must also help us so that we can get the permits for digging and installing underground systems. We have put in 100, and we are continuing. We have also procured small express vehicles to enter small streets.
For Vasilissis Olga
The first section of Vasilissis Olga opens on June 26, as the Acropolis Rally super-special route will pass through there. The right section will open on June 26, but for the left section, we still have some issues. We are waiting for work on the tram tracks. They will open, I think, around September or October, 2 lanes of light traffic, as is the plan. Anyway – let’s say it to be clear – from the beginning, light traffic roads were planned so that vehicles could go to the tennis court and to Aigli in Zappeion. Now it will be used for all residents and not just for some who will have special permits, self-evident.
To find arson materials on Lycabettus
In view of the summer season, we are proceeding with the cleaning of all the hills. This morning (Friday) on Lycabettus, we found 3 bottles of alcohol and professional lighters, which were hidden near bushes. We are on alert in difficult weather conditions. And in fact, in extremely high temperatures, we close the hills and parks, we have drones and municipal police for surveillance, if something negative happens, we can immediately intervene. We are very anxious. Today it is windy, which is why we proceeded with this specific process, and fortunately, we found them early.
For social housing
We are participating in a very large initiative at the European level. We are active in a total of 15 cities for social housing. We estimate that we need 1000 homes in Athens immediately. We are asking for money from the unallocated resources of the Recovery Fund, together with large cities such as Rome and Barcelona. What is the problem? Right now, we are subsidizing rents in the Municipality of Athens, we are subsidizing houses for reconstruction, but we want another offer, we want more buildings.
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