Heatwaves and the Tourism Miracle of Athens

A veteran hotelier in Athens as soon as mentioned, “Tourism is sort of a storm; for 3 years, chances are you’ll journey the crest of the wave, and for the subsequent two, you wrestle to maintain your head above water.” Nonetheless, post-pandemic Athenian tourism has been extra akin to a steady success story, breaking information and impressing with its achievements and dynamism. It reveals no indicators of slowing down or acknowledging potential threats from financial downturns, market corrections, or different disruptions.

Nonetheless, a stroll by means of the streets of this miniature Athenian “Disneyland,” from the business “triangle” and Syntagma to Plaka and Koukaki, reveals that “clouds” are usually not fully absent from the horizon. As this summer time turns right into a steady endurance take a look at for each residents and guests, Athenian tourism, whereas supposedly in a take-off section, reveals vulnerabilities typical of its development levels. Apart from the Grand Promenade beneath the Acropolis, public areas are a large number, with an virtually everlasting sense of muddle, noise air pollution, selective cleansing (relying on the schedule of the final rubbish truck), and visible air pollution of each type. The fully anachronistic, overwhelming predominance of vehicles over extra sustainable modes of transportation provides the town a cultural ambiance extra akin to the Center East and North Africa than Europe. This chaotic ambiance is probably the most noticeable side of a 3-4 day journey to the town for a well-intentioned customer.

“They Know What They’re in for”

The brand new “elephant within the room” just isn’t graffiti, slim sidewalks, or inconsistent cleanliness. In spite of everything, in line with an annual survey carried out by the Athens-Attica and Argosaronic Resort Affiliation in partnership with GBR Consulting, vacationer satisfaction in Athens continues to rise, reaching 8.4 final yr, up from 7.7 in 2017. “Most foreigners don’t complain about these points. They count on them and are usually not shocked. They’ve carried out their analysis and know what they’re in for. Some even come intentionally to have a style of Athenian chaos earlier than returning to their orderly and, maybe, considerably ‘boring’ cities,” says Savvas P., an worker and tour information at a bicycle and lightweight mobility rental firm in Makrygianni. The brand new “elephant within the room” is the continuing heatwaves.

Usually, a vacationer vacation spot is impacted by excessive occasions akin to a terrorist assault, an financial disaster, or a pandemic. Athens has confronted all three eventualities and recovered sooner than anticipated. As we speak, as the town is on the forefront of Greece’s tourism increase, a brand new risk is rising seemingly out of nowhere. Though environmentalists have been ringing the bell for years, nobody might have imagined that the primary generations of the twenty first century would really feel local weather change on their pores and skin. “It’s one factor for a given summer time to be hotter than typical, and one other for temperatures to progressively rise over a succession of sizzling summers, probably resulting in a change within the established habits that form the planning of a whole yr,” says Elias Kikilias, normal director of INSETE (the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation), who speaks plainly about “adjusting the season” in the long run if the weather conditions of this and final summer time persist. Have we reached that time? “Not but, fortunately. Nonetheless, if a sure notion in regards to the Mediterranean summer time beneficial properties traction in vital worldwide markets, we could witness shifts that can disrupt the underlying ‘doctrines’ of each the Greek and Athenian tourism economies.” One in every of these doctrines is that probably the most “productive” months for Athens have historically been June and July. Why shouldn’t this alteration, and why not shift to seasons of low tourism, akin to December and January? Nonetheless, making such a drastic change just isn’t simple. To provide one instance, colleges shut all through the summer time months. Nonetheless, talking with resort sector stakeholders, there seems to be no such concern.

Elevated Exercise

Athenian lodges expect to have one of the best season within the metropolis’s tourism historical past. “It’s a disgrace they’ll’t get pleasure from it as a lot as they’d like,” says an skilled hotelier. “When the thermometer stays at 36 or 37 levels Celsius for days, aged guests, specifically, are basically excluded from quite a few actions from midday to late afternoon, which is often probably the most ‘productive’ half of their day. Moreover, the warmth has a higher affect on metropolis tourism, notably amongst older vacationers, who usually spend extra.” Athens resort occupancy charges averaged 72.3% within the first 5 months of 2024, up from 68.9% in 2023. Nonetheless, if we search for a slight flaw on this optimistic image, we should always be aware that, whereas Might this yr had the next occupancy fee than the previous months (86.2%), it confirmed a -2.7% lower in comparison with Might 2023.

Warmth Day and Evening

“We’re experiencing a climatically excessive summer time for our area,” provides Kostas Lagouvardos, head of the Nationwide Observatory of Athens, noting that we simply had the warmest winter on file. “Except Might, we’ve had 12 consecutive months of barely or considerably above-normal temperatures since July 2023. June was extraordinarily sizzling, and July seems to be following the identical development, with all of our knowledge exhibiting extended warmth for the subsequent two weeks.”

He factors out that the difficulty for Athens and all vacationer locations just isn’t a lot the warmth itself, however its period. “In June, we solely exceeded 40 levels for sooner or later. The issue was that temperatures had been considerably increased than common on virtually each different day of the month, exacerbating the feeling of warmth. It’s the period that turns into tiresome and exhausting for individuals.” Though Athens and Attica have all the time had sizzling summers, their local weather, because of the northern-northeastern breezes (the well-known meltemia), has been comparatively extra bearable than in places that don’t profit (and endure as a consequence of fires) from the north wind and low humidity.

“That is notably true for the northern suburbs and the japanese coastal areas, however not a lot for the town middle or the southern components,” continues Mr. Lagouvardos, “the place the temperature doesn’t drop sufficiently even at night time. If we assume {that a} customer can tolerate the daytime warmth and hopes for reduction at night time, and that reduction fails to materialize because the temperature stays round 31 to 32 levels at midnight, the sense of discomfort grows much more.”

The Metropolis’s Rising Pains Persist

Since 2015 or 2020, there was a marked enchancment within the state of public areas in central Athens, however not when in comparison with different comparable southern European metropolises akin to Rome, Madrid, or Lisbon . There are fewer motorbikes and vehicles blocking pedestrian and disabled crossings; fewer shuttered retailers creating a way of abandonment and financial nervousness; and extra underground rubbish bins promising a cleaner future. General, higher efforts are being made to place our greatest foot ahead the place we really feel most weak.

Visitors Points

Nonetheless, the general image stays under the European common. The continuing visitors mayhem attributable to vacationer buses on Amalias Avenue and the slim facet streets of Syngrou is a primary instance and one of many extra complicated to resolve. “We’ve been unable to resolve the difficulty of parked vehicles on Solonos and even Panepistimiou for years; how are we supposed to resolve the rather more significant issue of vacationer coaches?” wonders a resort trade insider whose institution is positioned on the outskirts of Plaka. The ingrained tradition of lax policing and widespread lawlessness additionally taints Athenian tourism . How can any well-intentioned research on managing vacationer buses succeed when Athenian drivers know they’ll park wherever within the metropolis middle for 5 or ten minutes with out critical repercussions?

Sidewalks

Strolling alongside among the essential vacationer routes, we see areas the place we’re making progress and others the place we have to catch up. The final state of public areas has improved (comparatively talking), though structural points nonetheless plague Athens, resulting in low scores.

Strolling within the middle of Athens is usually extra comfy than strolling within the neighborhoods and suburbs of the metropolitan space. That is largely because of the vital growth of pedestrian streets because the Olympic Video games, in addition to a fairly efficient effort to discourage the usage of personal vehicles. Moreover, throughout the earlier municipal authorities, critical efforts had been made to fight the so-called “arduous filth” that had ingrained itself into the town’s sidewalks and squares. Vital quantities had been spent on the gear wanted to treatment this.

The identical is true for the essential battle towards graffiti, which has turn into a second pores and skin for Athens. The brand new municipal authorities should keep on monitor to keep away from regressing to the place we had been ten years in the past. The reconstruction of many kilometers of sidewalks is a welcome initiative, bettering each day life for each residents and guests. Nonetheless, there may be nonetheless an inexplicable lack of boldness: strolling on the brand new sidewalks of Ermou Road in Monastiraki, close to the sq., and on Eratosthenous Road in Pangrati, close to the Goulandris Museum, it’s noticeable that their width has remained the identical—slim and unfriendly to pedestrians and other people with disabilities. Regardless of good intentions, Athens continues to attain very low on accessibility points.

Inexperienced Areas

Conversely, vital progress has been made in clearing the town’s hills of dry vegetation and something that might contribute to the unfold of fires. Usually, most inexperienced areas are in a lot better situation than prior to now. After all, the great is the enemy of one of the best, and on this regard, there may be loads of room for enchancment for many who set excessive requirements.

Sadly, steps ahead are sometimes matched by setbacks. City infrastructure has by no means been Athens’ sturdy swimsuit, however discovering a public house within the metropolis middle that meets the requirements of superior European cities is genuinely difficult. Contemplate the damaged marble parts across the new bushes planted on the decrease facet of Syntagma Sq., for instance. A extra significant issue is the large growth of tables and chairs on sidewalks, pedestrian streets, and squares following the pandemic. The current corruption scandal involving members of the Municipal Police and staff of the Ministry of Tradition explains most of the inexplicable phenomena we observe on the streets of Athens.