Management of Santorini Tourism: SWOT Analysis and Strategies

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
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Table of Contents
1. Brief historical overview of the place (destination)...............................................................3
3. Current and projected visitor (target) markets.......................................................................4
4. Host (Local) Community’s aspirations and values................................................................6
5. SWOT analysis.......................................................................................................................7
6. PEST Analysis.......................................................................................................................9
7. Key, current but also anticipated, tourism impacts..............................................................10
8. Appropriate strategies to develop or enforce a sustainable approach to tourism
development and growth..........................................................................................................10
9. Recommendation of Marketing Strategies...........................................................................11
10. Issues, challenges and opportunities facing the destination across the short, medium and
long-term..................................................................................................................................12
Reference List..........................................................................................................................13

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1. Brief historical overview of the place (destination)
The island of Santorini is a precious part of the Aegean. This location is an attraction
in itself with various sighting locations to be visited and various activities to be done. The
primary attraction of Santorini is emphatically the volcano that is responsible for the
attractive shape as well as the stunning natural beauty of the place. There are various agencies
that organises excursions that enable a visitor to explore the place, close up. There is
spectacle of picturesque churches and chapels that bear evidences of Cycladic architecture.
These structures are beautifully whitewashed and blue domed. Among the most spectacular
places in Santorini, the monastery of Prophet Elias is a representation of heavenly beauty.
There are some great museums as well as archaeological sites also. The ruins of the Venetian
castles is also an important tourist spot. Another important spot that is very famous among
the tourists is the Akrotiri Lighthouse. This is a beautiful building that is surrounded by
spectacular surroundings offering majestic images, especially at the time of the sunset
(Avgeli, Soteriades and Sakoualou 2018).
There is an array of extraordinary beaches all alongside the island. There are also rare
landscapes with crystal clear water heightening the view. Along with these sites, thrilling the
viewers with captivity, there is also the presence of some of the finest wineries where the
visitors can taste some of the exquisite local wine form Santorini. All these and lot more
bears a promise of an unforgettable vacation.
2. Supply and demand overview for tourism products
The beautiful volcanic island of Santorini in Greece has been facing dire
consequences owing to excessive tourism. As Lichrou, O’Malley and Patterson (2017),
suggests, there is an acute need for undertaking an integrated coastal management scheme
and following that set up an organisation for destination management. Otherwise, Avgeli,
Soteriades and Sakoualou (2018), alarms that the rate at which the natural features of

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Santorini is being destroyed, would turn out to be fatal for the exquisite natural locations.
Again, in addition, Kakoudakis and McCabe (2018) adds that the farm lands are needed to be
preserved that are being constantly reduced for tourism constructs. The actual tourism
demand in the location is 1.3 million tourist visits every year. The majority of the pressure of
tourism is on the 73 kilometres spread Cycladic isle every year. As analysed by eminent
geographic analyst like Kakoudakis and McCabe (2018), the infrastructure in the island
including airport, road network, water supply as well as sewage system, ports as well as the
energy grids are not able to meet demands from the 85000 visitors who occupy the stress of
the island during the peak tourism seasons. Naturally, Sigala (2019), highlights that as an
outcome of this excessive pressure, the local business units are not able to offer quality
services to the travelling hordes that infiltrate the place every year.
As highlighted by the mayor of the place, alongside having a large number of
accommodation facilities in the place, there has been the emergence of huge amount of
uncontrolled construction. In the same context, Ioannides and Alebaki (2017), states that the
Vlychada beach have been at a high level of risk and this is one of the most popular beaches
at the place. The pollution level of the place owing to the increasing number of visitors who
come to cite the breath taking volcanic rocks of the place is increasing immensely. In fact,
Dixit (2019), observes that cases of tourists unnecessarily harming the thousands of years old
rock formations that are natural aspects of beauty of the place is a serious crime.
3. Current and projected visitor (target) markets
The tourism department of Greece has idealised that they are going to promote the
location of Santorini for tourism through the modern media promotional tools. In order to do
that, the local government has formulated a three year communication strategy for the spread
of tourism. The tourism strategy of the place, as Chung, Chung and Nam (2017), suggests,
have been formulated in order to allow better adaptation to the habitats of the tourists, the