Fewer visitors to museums but more to ancient sites

There was a dramatic drop in the number of visitors to museums in Greece last December, according to data released on Tuesday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), which showed that 13.9 percent fewer people visited the country?s museums compared to the same month in 2010, leading to a 16 percent drop in revenues year-on-year.

As a result, in the whole of 2011 there was a 2.4 percent decline in visitor numbers and a 5.5 percent contraction in receipts.

However, the picture was very different regarding archaeological sites, which last year posted a 17.5 percent increase in visitor numbers and a 6.7 percent rise in revenues, according to figures released by Greece?s independent statistics service on Tuesday.