Longer hours for museums and sites boost revenues

By Iota Sykka

In March 2013 Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced a series of policies to upgrade the presence of Greece’s museum and archaeological sites following a meeting with leading officials at the Ministry of Culture. The policies broke new ground here though they have long been implemented in other countries, even those that haven’t been blessed with a rich cultural legacy as Greece has. His announcement met with some skepticism, as it came in the wake of myriad promises by leaders past to do more for the country’s museums and sites.

But over a year later, better management at 33 archaeological sites and museums, extended summer opening hours – from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week – revamped museum shops featuring new products and the hiring of additional staff are already bringing positive results even though the peak summer season is yet to start.

The news is good not just because the extended hours have resulted in a rise in visitor numbers but also because the measures have brought about a boost in revenues for the Archaeological Receipts Fund. According to the service, which regularly monitors visitor numbers and revenues at museums and sites, compared to a year earlier, April takings rose 115.81 percent at Akrotiri on Santorini, 109.59 percent at the recently renovated Archaeological Museum of Iraklio on Crete, 100.26 percent at the White Tower in Thessaloniki and 95.85 percent at the Acropolis of Ancient Ialysus on Rhodes. The smallest increase in year-on-year revenues was at the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, which was 14.12 percent.

At 17 percent, the increase for the country’s biggest attraction, the Parthenon in Athens, was not notable by comparison either but this is mainly due to the fact that there is a...