The New Acropolis Museum, as one of the most recently opened tourist sites in Greece is lucky enough to have high quality facilities for visitors, such as disabled access provisions. Many other sites in Greece are less fortunate however. A new initiative aims to try and solve this problem by upgrading many of the other sites to make them more easily accessible to all visitors.

From:
Athens News Agency

11/26/2010
Plan on sites services

ANa-Mpa/The culture and tourism ministry on Wednesday outlined a plan to improve services at Greek museums and archaeological sites, especially in terms of disabled access and availability of water.

The new programme follows a study that revealing a lack of vital services in some 150 museums around the country, including some of the most important and most popular sites.

Perhaps the most striking example is the Athens Acropolis, where until recently there was no provisions for access to the disabled or the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the heart of the city, where visitors were unable to buy water.

From:
Associated Press

Greece plans overhaul of visitor services at ancient sites, museums, to boost tourism
By: The Associated Press
Posted: 24/11/2010 9:56 AM

ATHENS, Greece – Crisis-stricken Greece plans to spend more than €20 million ($26.7 million) over the next three years on improving visitor services at historic sites and museums to boost tourism.

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said Tuesday most Greek monuments and museums lack basic services such as restrooms, parking lots and vending machines.

He added that none of the country’s top 10 crowd-pullers, including the Acropolis, met requirements such as translated signs or facilities for the blind.

Geroulanos said part of the funding for the project will come from local sponsors and the European Union.

Tourism accounts for more than 15 per cent of Greece’s economy, according to tourism industry figures.