Where is saturation observed, how do visitors evaluate the capital – The seven measures proposed
After a year of intensive work, the Study of the Tourist Capacity of the destination of Athens was completed, which was carried out by the Municipality of Athens through Athens Development S.A., in collaboration with the Department of Tourism Studies of the University of Piraeus and the “Goimisis and Partners” Technical Office ».
The study shows that, although Athens is not characterized as a city with overtourism, it nevertheless presents “tourist fragility” and “sensitivity” to the pressure on its infrastructure from the rise of tourism in recent years. “It is the first time that such an in-depth study has been delivered on the city’s endurance in the face of the increased tourist flows of recent years”, said the mayor Haris Doukas and added: “The Carrying Capacity Study offers us a very big advantage, the possibility to operate preventively. Let’s see what the real situation is in the center and in the neighborhoods of Athens, so that we can act with a plan in the coming years. It is clear that the Greek capital should adopt policies and practices as if it had hypertourism, which it does not, so as not to become a “victim” of its success”.
The study identifies spatial hyper-concentrations in specific saturated neighborhoods of the city center (shopping center, Monastiraki-Plaka, Psirri-Koumundourou, Makrygianni), which are observed over time significant pressures from permanent residents and visitors/tourists, as well as high water consumption , energy and waste. However, there are trends of tourism-pressures in the peripheral districts (neighborhoods of moderate and low saturation, Durgouti, Fokionos Negri, Kato Patisia, Agios Nikolaos, Ampelokipi), with corresponding significant effects on the standard of living and the market.
Specifically, there are 14 saturated neighborhoods (9.7% of the total) in the 1st and 2nd Municipal Communities and 17 Moderately Saturated (11.8%) in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th Municipal Communities as follows:
Saturated neighborhoods
1st Municipal Community: Ioulianou-Philadelphias, Agios Pavlos, Agios Konstantinos-Vathi Square, Museum, Exarchia, Psirri-Koumundourou, Shopping Center, Kolonaki, Monastiraki-Plaka, Makrygianni, Veikou, Koukaki
2nd Municipal Community: Kallirrois, Durgouti I
Moderate Satiety
1st Municipal Community: Strefi Hill, Neapoli I, Kolonaki-Lykavittos, Ilisia-Parko
2nd Municipal Community: Plastira, Lofos Lambraki, Durgouti II
3rd Municipal Community: Kerameikos, Kamba, Thisio
5th Municipal Community: Agios Eleftherios I
6th Municipal Community: Attica Square, Victoria Square
7th Municipal Community: Pedio Areos, Kountouriotika, Ampelokipoi I, Agios Thomas
At the same time, 27 are the neighborhoods that combine high saturation values with high average rent values.
The burden that the city receives over time in tourism and networks (water supply, waste, energy) seems to be a question of Carrying Capacity for both the permanent resident and the visitor.
Another key conclusion is that the traffic of Athens during the high tourist season (May-October) does not burden the city more, as the permanent population leaves Athens, with the result that the balance of permanent residents and visitors tends to remain almost constant. As it turns out, the city of Athens, as a “city break” destination, functions as a tourism receiver 365 days a year, with the result that its burden is continuous, without intervening periods in which the tourist activity is mitigated.
From the findings it is evident that from 2021 to 2023 there was an annual increase in the total volume of waste in the tourist and non-tourist seasons, at rates of 2.6% and 6.3% respectively. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Municipal Communities are under the greatest pressure from tourism, while in the 1st Municipal Community more than 50% of the total waste production, energy consumption and water comes from visitors over time.
A primary survey was carried out with 788 answered questionnaires from all the Municipal Communities of Athens. According to her, the tourist presence strongly affects the daily life of the city, mainly in the center, while the peripheral communities are less affected.
The 1st Municipal Community shows the greatest economic dependence on tourism, while the importance of tourism is recognized more in the areas with increased tourist activity. Nevertheless, there are trends of a negative or neutral view on the environmental effects of tourism. Residents have a clear perception that tourism contributes to a certain extent to the increase of waste in their area, they perceive a moderate to sufficient effect of tourism on the quietness, as well as on the traffic pressure they feel. The increase in rents is the most important negative impact, although they recognize that it is not only about tourism.
The majority of the residents of Athens do not consider that tourism strongly affects local attitudes and feel comfortable with the tourist presence. There is a positive perception of tourism at 53%, despite the differences between central and peripheral areas. Tourism communities recognize more the impacts of tourism on cleanliness, while environmental impacts are treated with a neutral or negative attitude.
Equally important is data mining and analysis of 24,000 visitor reviews from popular online platforms for 2023-2024. Visitors detect noise pollution in the central Municipal Communities, they face overcrowding in archaeological sites, such as the Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum, as well as on the central lines of Mass Transportation. At the same time, they find higher prices in the central municipal communities, which was also highlighted by the residents in their responses.
From the results of the study, it follows that a balanced and sustainable development of tourism is required, for the benefit of both residents and visitors. The working group came up with seven strategic pillars that focus on the following:
1. Regulation of Tourism Development and Infrastructure
2. Regulation of Short Term Rentals (STR)
3. Economic Measures and Tourism Taxation
4. Promotion of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
5. Actions for the Protection of the Local Community
6. Investment in Infrastructure and Public Services
7. Management of Tourist Flows and Congestion
The strategies are specified with a framework of 63 actions with identified actors, specific timetable and actions that should be implemented.
Specifically, an integrated and multidimensional Metropolitan approach is required, which recognizes the interconnected nature of plans, strategies and solutions for the development of tourism in Athens. Emphasis needs to be placed on visitor numbers and a new mindset needs to be adopted, which prioritizes maintaining and improving the quality of the tourist experience, upgrading the quality of life of residents and ensuring environmental sustainability.
The next step is to create, through the Development Company of the Municipality of Athens, a Sustainable Tourism Observatory, which will integrate the policy proposals and the action plan of the Municipality, utilizing real-time data, with the aim of analyzing them in the context of sustainability-sustainable development (environment, society, economy) and the dual transition (green and digital transformation).
Led by the Municipality of Athens and with the “vehicle” of the Carrying Tourism Capacity Study, the Observatory will include the neighboring municipalities (Nea Smyrni, Kallithea, Galatsi, Aigaleo, Peristeri, Zografou, Byronas, Dafni-Ymittos) with the aim of acquiring a metropolitan character .
It is noted that during the study, the working group held a total of 18 face-to-face meetings with the involved bodies, while questionnaires were also sent, taking into account – throughout the process – the observations and comments of the involved bodies.
On 5/12, in an open consultation, the important findings of the Study were presented to the representatives of the professional and tourist organizations of the city, while last June the first open consultation, in which the subject of the study was presented, was preceded.
To carry out the study, an innovative approach was followed by the Technical Office, with Geospatial and Statistical Analysis at Neighborhood level (usual practice at Municipality/Region level), using seven Tourism Indicators (Tourist Intensity, Density, Operation, Pressure, Overnights and Concentration) and three Sustainability Indicators (Tourism Water Consumption, of Energy and Waste), based on international literature.
Methodologically, the Study used long-term (2018-2023) Short-term Leasing data (Big Data from A.A.D.E. Registry and AirDNA), Hotel units (X.E.E. Registry, INSETE) and recent Long-term Leasing data ( Golden Opportunity), with the direct aim of indicating neighborhoods of high, medium, low saturation, as well as those that remain unsaturated until now.
The methodology is complemented by Primary field research from the University of Piraeus, using 788 Questionnaires during the months of July to October, at neighborhood/district level, in order to examine the degree to which tourism affects the permanent residents of the Municipality, as well as evaluations of the visitors themselves (data mining from Booking, Airbnb, Google maps platforms) on critical issues such as security, noise pollution, crowding and accuracy, giving qualitative coverage to the methodology (sentiment analysis).
Finally, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with all Tourism institutional bodies, in order to qualitatively analyze their proposals, while an analysis of international experience (best practices) was carried out in all popular tourist destinations.
