The New Acropolis Museum remains the most popular museum in Greece, with 158,581 visitors during the period of measurement – an increase of 36.9% on the same period the previous year.

These figures are related to the Euro zone financial crisis on two levels. Firstly, as the Greek economy is gradually showing some signs of recovery, people are starting to think once again that it is a place worth visiting, rather than fearing that their holiday will be ruined by strikes.

At the same time, the economies of other countries in Europe are also starting to recover, meaning that people are taking weekend city breaks & trips abroad generally more frequently than they were over the last few years.

Acropolis Museum

From:
Greek Reporter

Significant Increase in Visitors and Revenue at Greek Museums and Archaeological Sites
by Aggelos Skordas
Nov 12, 2014

A significant increase exceeding 20% in the attendance as well as the revenue of museums and archaeological sites across Greece in the first seven months of 2014, documented the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

ELSTAT data showed that 22.1% more people visited museums during the January-July period, while revenue increased by 28%. At the same time, the archaeological sites across the country saw a visitors’ increase of 22.9% compared to the previous period while revenue increased by 16.1%. It is worth noting that solely on July, 29.8% more people visited museums and 20.2% archaeological sites. During that month, revenue was increased by 33.4% and 13.8% at museums and archaeological sites respectively.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last year, some had noted that the New Acropolis Museum’s visitor numbers had declined since its first months of opening.

It appears now that this may be changing, as the November 2013 figures just released indicate a 14% increase from the previous year.

New Acropolis Museum

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Thursday March 13, 2014
More visitors at Greek museums, archaeological sites

The number of visitors at Greek museums was up by 2.4 percent in November 2013, while the cultural institutions saw a 0.6 percent increase in their receipts compared to the same month the previous year, a Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) report revealed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, although the number of visitors at archaeological sites recorded an increase of 4 percent in November 2013, the respective receipts recorded a decrease of 1.4 percent in comparison to the same period last year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Regular readers of this website will already be familiar with James Beresford from an earlier piece that he wrote for the Museums Association Journal about the declining visitor numbers at the New Acropolis Museum.

Here, he follows on from the Round Table event held at the European Parliament in Brussels last month. As with his previous article, he raises some interesting points, although I don’t agree with many of the conclusions that he reaches. I met him a few weeks ago & found he had an amazing knowledge of restitution issues, spreading far wider that that of the Parthenon Marbles. At the same time, he likes to provoke – to get readers agitated & to confront people’s preconceptions (which is probably what a lot of the magazine editors want too).

Both the BCRPM & the Swiss Committee for the Reunification of the Marbles have written responses to his piece, which I have included at the end, as theses go some way to answering many of the points that he raises.

From:
The Parliament

EU funding for new Acropolis museum branded ‘inappropriate’
By James Beresford – 7th November 2013

James Beresford says European funding for Athens’ new Acropolis museum runs counter to the treaty of the EU’s requirement for such support to promote ‘solidarity among the member states’.

This article is in response to Rodi Kratsa’s article of 22 October.

The roundtable discussion held in the European parliament building on October 15 debating the return of the Parthenon/Elgin marbles, should be of great interest to European parliamentarians.
Read the rest of this entry »

Admission to the Acropolis Museum will be free on 28th October. This is to celebrate Ochi day (Οχι looks strange written in English), when Greece refused the Axis powers entry into the country. There will also be a special presentation taking place on the day, called “The Other Gods of the Acropolis”.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Tuesday October 22, 2013
Acropolis Museum offers free admission on October 28 national holiday

Admission to Greece’s landmark Acropolis Museum will be free of charge on Monday, October 28, in celebration of “Ochi Day,” a national holiday commemorating the country’s refusal to allow the Axis powers’ entry into the country on October 28, 1940.

The museum will also be offering 10 separate presentations for adults titled “The Other Gods of the Acropolis,” with one in English at 1 p.m. and another in French at 5 p.m., as well as eight workshops for children on “Myths in Images” aimed at 8-12 year olds.

Parties interested in attending the special events must book a spot in advance on tel 210.900.0900.

Opening hours on October 28 will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The New Acropolis Museum is giving free admission from tomorrow evening until Sunday, to celebrate both World Tourism Day and European Heritage Days. There will also be a series of talks during these days, taking place within the galleries.

From:
Acropolis Museum

World Tourism Day & European Heritage Days
Friday, 27 September – Sunday, 29 September, 2013

The Acropolis Museum celebrates World Tourism Day on Friday 27 September 2013 and European Heritage Days on Saturday and Sunday 29 & 30 September 2013 with Gallery Talks about the Museum masterpieces and the colors of the archaic statues, held by Archaeologist – Hosts.

On Friday 27 September the Museum will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and admission will be free for all visitors between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. On this day, the second floor restaurant will remain open as usual until 12 midnight.
Read the rest of this entry »

As an interesting postscript to the article about the decline in the number of visitors to the New Acropolis Museum. On the same day, many articles were published highlighting the increase in numbers to Greek archaeological sites.

Now, I have not seen the raw data for Either the New Acropolis Museum or the Acropolis & have no idea of the exact date ranges being used, but it looks as though things could be starting to increase again, with more tourists coming to Greece once more.

From:
Europe Online

Acropolis getting crowded as Greek tourist numbers rebound
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
02.09.2013

Athens (dpa) – The good news for Greece‘s tourism industry – a record 11.5 million tourists are expected this year reports the country‘s National Tourism Organization – is bad news for the country‘s best-known landmark, the increasingly crowded Acropolis.

“It‘s leading to terrible crowding,” local archaeologist Eleni Stylianou told dpa on Monday. The crush gets worst in the morning, when hordes of tourists stream out of their cruise ships.
Read the rest of this entry »

The author of this piece has, I suspect, taken a deliberately provocative approach to the subject matter. After all, magazine editors like nothing more than articles that stir up a heated discussion about a subject.

It does raise some interesting points though. Since its opening year, the visitor numbers at the New Acropolis Museum have declined. I believe that this is down to a variety of factors. Firstly, any new facility (whatever it is – shops, museums, hotels) tends to get an initial rush of interest – because of the fact that it is new. People rush to it, wanting to see it – particularly if the construction process has been going on for some time (works relating to the building of a new museum at the Acropolis Museum site had been underway since before 2000) and if it has made the headlines (which the New Acropolis Museum managed to on many occasions, regularly attracting controversy). After this initial honeymoon period, visitor numbers are likely to decline. Once people have visited something once, they are not so desperate to visit it again (afterall, there are many more things to see in the world, that they have not yet seen). Museums around the world regularly try to attract people back with temporary exhibitions, programmes of lectures & re-organisation of their exhibits, putting some in storage and others on display.

Secondly, there was an increase in admission charges – the museum initial made a very minimal charge, which later increased – this was always a planed decision.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly from the perspective of people in Greece today, is the financial crisis. The museum could not have opened at a worse time, as during the period immediately afterwards, the financial storm clouds that had been brewing on the horizon unleashed wave after wave of bad news for Greece. Budget cutbacks meant that there were reductions in the amount that could be spent on publicity for the new museum. People saw pictures of rioters ripping apart the cobbles of Syntagma & tear gas grenades being thrown by police in Exarchia and may well have re-considered their trips to Greece that they were planning. Still more may have cancelled the days in Athens at the start or end of their trip & instead just passed through the airport, taking a more direct route to the peace of the islands. Strikes have plagued many of Greece’s museums and archaeological sites & featured regularly on the news around the world. Although the New Acropolis Museum has been largely unaffected, most people who see pictures of picketed gates to museums are not aware of this. The financial crisis has also had in impact on the economies of many other countries outside of Greece. Across Europe & further afield, unemployment has risen, along with prices of food and petrol, while wages have stagnated. For many people with less money available, holidays abroad, particularly short weekend breaks are something that they have cut back on. Speaking from the point of view of someone in the UK, the current GBP:EUR exchange rates make Greece a far more expensive place to visit than it ever used to be, No longer does Athens feel like a cheap destination, but instead has prices comparable to London.

However, notwithstanding all the above provisos, the New Acropolis Museum has seen a decline in its visitor numbers over time & they are lower than some predictions hoped they would be.

Perhaps more importantly (maybe I should have mentioned this at the start of the article), I have always found arguments (from the British Museum) relating to visitor numbers to be a red-herring, distracting people from the actual discussion in hand. If maximising the number of people that see an artefact is of primary importance, then perhaps everything should be shipped to Beijing or Mumbai? But then again, should visitor number be used to over-ride compelling moral arguments for the return of the sculptures?

At past press conferences at the New Acropolis Museum, Professor Pandermalis has made no secret of the decline in numbers. He has in fact emphasised them with the hope that at least some of the journalists present might write articles in a way that inspires people to come & visit the museum. He has also outlined strategies for how they hope to increase the numbers over time.

From:
Museums Journal

Greek Drama at the New Acropolis Museum
James Beresford
Issue 113/09, P17, 01.09.13

Opening to international fanfare in June 2009, the €129m New Acropolis Museum has become the embodiment of the Greek desire to see Elgin’s marble trophies returned to Athens. However, the paying public has been less-than-impressed with the museum, which has failed to attract the visitor numbers that were predicted.

In 2006 journalist Tom Flynn noted: “The old Acropolis Museum currently attracts around 1.5 million people each year. The Greeks hope their New Acropolis Museum will at least double that figure.”
Read the rest of this entry »

The Acropolis might not be able to open late due to health & safety restrictions, but the nearby Acropolis Museum is not only open until midnight (free admission after 9pm), but also has a free concert in the courtyard outside the building.

From:
Acropolis Museum

August Full Moon
Wednesday, 21 August, 2013

The Acropolis Museum celebrates August Full Moon on Wednesday 21 August 2013, with famous melodies of the Greek and world repertoire, performed by the historic Army Band of Athens, in the Museum’s entrance courtyard at 9:30 p.m.
Read the rest of this entry »

At the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy, Professor Simon Critchley spoke out in support of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens.

He adds his name to the many academics, archaeologists, historians & museum professionals who already support this cause, yet the British Museum seems to care little & is still intent on maintaining their current course steering as far away from restitution as possible.

From:
Greek Reporter

Critchley Says Parthenon Marbles Are Greece’s
By Maria Arkouli on August 9, 2013

Simon Critchley, a professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City, brought the house down at the 23d World Congress of Philosophy meeting in Athens when he said the Parthenon Marbles stolen from the Acropolis nearly 200 years ago and now in the British Museum should be returned to Greece.

Critchley, who is British, was speaking to an audience on the banks of the Ilissos and had them cheering when he said, “I never understood why England has the Parthenon Marbles. The Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece and to Athens and they must return to their homeland”.
Read the rest of this entry »

The New Acropolis Museum continues to go from strength to strength, topping the lists as the most popular museum in Greece – no mean feat, when you consider the number of other museums of global importance within the country.

From:
Greek Reporter

More than 2M Visit Museums and Archaeological Sites
By Maria Korologou on August 14, 2013

The significant rise in tourism can interpret to an extent the rise in the number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites around Greece. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), in the period January-April 2013, visitors to museums reached 833,105 in total presenting a rise of 19 percent in comparison with the same period in 2012, while at archaeological sites the number of tourists was over one million this year and reached 1,147,841 presenting a rise of 35,4 percent.
Read the rest of this entry »

In my mind, I have a picture of the Acropolis Museum celebrating its birthday – perhaps in a big party to which all the other museums are invited. Each year, it excitedly waits in hope of a giant cake in the shape of the Elgin Marbles – but it never arrives & it is left to celebrate on its own, hoping that the next year will be better.

Don’t get me wrong – it is still an amazing museum & should be on the itinerary of any visitor to Athens. But, to jump back to the previous analogy, if it was a cake, it would only have half the icing on – there are patches everywhere with no icing, and everyone wonders when these bits will be finished.

From:
Greek Reporter

Acropolis Museum’s 4th Anniversary
By Christina Flora on June 18, 2013

The Acropolis Museum opened its gates when the great economic crisis started affecting Greece. But it had the luck to be embraced by the Greek and international public, giving it the chance to operate for four years without public subsidy.

The Acropolis Museum celebrates its fourth birthday with optimism for the future. On Thursday, June 20, the exhibition venue and the restaurant will remain open from 8am to midnight, while admission will be reduced to three euros for everyone.
Read the rest of this entry »

Its hard to believe that this Thursday marks the fourth anniversary of the opening of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. While the museum goes from strength to strength however, during this time, there has been little real progress with the issue of the Parthenon Marbles.

The museum was originally built to house the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum – and to remove the arguments that Greece had nowhere to house the sculptures. However, since the opening, the financial turmoil that has engulfed the country has meant that there has been little progress in moving the issue forward at all.

While the country has many very important issues to focus on, it is a shame that this museum (which is in many ways, a game changer in the case & Greece’s strongest argument) has not been used to full effect. At the moment it is still new – so now is the time when the argument is strongest, otherwise it eventually just becomes accepted as part of the status quo of the situation.

Hopefully big things will happen before the next anniversary celebration comes around…

From:
Euronews

Acropolis Museum fourth birthday
17/06 12:57 CET

On Thursday 20 June 2013, the Acropolis Museum celebrates its fourth birthday. The exhibition areas will remain open from 8 a.m. until 12 midnight. The restaurant will be open during the same hours. On this occasion, admission will be reduced (3 euros) for all visitors.

Visitors will have the opportunity to discover, together with Museum Archaeologist – Hosts, untold stories of the surviving blocks of the frieze, with the aid of 3D presentations on special screens installed in the Parthenon Gallery.
Read the rest of this entry »