Tourism in Greece: Developments, Impacts, and Policy Implications

This article explores the developments, impacts, and policy implications of tourism in Greece. It discusses the attractions and wonders of Greece as a tourist destination, the preservation of cultural heritage, the negative impacts of tourism, and policy recommendations for sustainable and inclusive tourism. The article also highlights the effects of the financial crisis on tourism in Greece and how it has emerged as a resilient industry.

Running head: TOURISM IN GREECE
TOURISM IN GREECE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Destination Development
Lane, L., 2017. Despite Economic Problems, Greece's Tourism Looking Good In 2017.
[online] Forbes.com. Available at:
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2017/06/05/despite-economic-problems-greece-
tourism-looking-good-in-2017-using-new-strategies/#6a61e6f9541f>
This particular article focuses on the developments that have taken place in Greece which
shows that the destination has become a prime attraction among the tourists as a destination for
tourist interest and that it is catering to a wide range of itinerant clients who wishes to experience
the wonders of Greece. Over the recent years post the paying off of the debts and the stability
brought about in the social and economic conditions in the nation that Greece has finally been
able to reclaim its position as a tourist’s paradise yet once again. The range of attractions that the
nation has to offer to the visitors is plenty and every itinerant tourist has something to seek and
relish in Greece. The sandy beaches and the luxurious hotels are meant for the party goers who
wish to splurge on having a lifetime experience cherishing the hospitality to be offered by the
destination. Greece has quite a lot of historical sites which are sought after by the history buffs.
The greatest developments that have taken place in Greece recently is that of the religious and
the LGBT tourism facilities which have attracted quite a lot of people from various parts of the
world to the nation seeking a solace and an opportunity to cherish themselves at the same time.
The plenty of churches and other religious shrines provide an opportunity for the religious
travellers to seek spiritual experience and the presence of a vibrant community of the LGBT
population that the queer community finds it as a safe haven for themselves.

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Iliopoulou-Georgudaki, J., Theodoropoulos, C., Konstantinopoulos, P. and Georgoudaki,
E., 2017. Sustainable tourism development including the enhancement of cultural heritage
in the city of Nafpaktos–Western Greece. International Journal of Sustainable Development
& World Ecology, 24(3), pp.224-235.
The issue of the preservation and restoration of the historical sites of Greece has attracted
quite a lot of attention in the nation and that has become an inevitable part of the Greek tourism
and destination development which devotes specific attention to the monuments which dates
back to the ancient Greek period. The monuments belonging to the ancient period are getting
crumbled and they require quite a lot of restoration and repair work which is necessary for the
sake of attracting more and more tourists to the nation. For the past few years several ancient
monuments had been shut down and the tourists were prohibited from entering the monuments as
they were being restored. A huge amount of money had been pumped into the projects with the
aim of developing the tourist facilities in the nation for getting more and more tourists and
earning more through the revenues provided by the tourists for the sake of supplementing both
the restoration work and the earning of the revenues from it.
Tourism Impacts
Dimelli, D.P., 2017. The effects of tourism in Greek insular settlements and the role of
spatial planning. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(1), pp.319-336.
In this particular article the author has discussed about the contradictions that lie in the
impact of tourism in Greece. On one hand, the tourism sector is extremely important for the
economy of the nation, on the other hand there have been several problems faced by Greece
which include social, economic and even environmental problems. A major share of the Greek

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economy is dependent upon the tourism sector and the gross national product is a product of the
tourism. The peak seasons are the best times for Greece to earn handsomely, and each year the
number of tourists are also increasing by leaps and bounds but there are several problems
associated with the tourism which are neglected and not much talked about. The economic
problems comprises of the exploitation of the work force that are recruited for serving as hotel
staff, who are paid less and made to work for long hours which goes against the work ethics.
Apart from that, tourism in Greece is also causing environmental problems as the natural
resources are being exploited beyond measure. The building more hotel facilities at the beach is a
serious breach of the environmental law and the illegal buildings are a serious issue as they are
quite vulnerable to the sea storm and can put the safety of the people putting up at the hotels at
risk. There is supposed to be a boundary line which should not be crossed while building the
hotels but the rule is getting serious violated. Apart from that, the clearing of the natural
vegetation from the seaside is another issue which is quite serious and must be tackled. There
have also been cultural degradation as the local culture has rampantly got displaced by the need
to cater to the demands and wishes of the tourists. These are the various costs which the greek
society is having to pay for the high revenues it is earning through tourism and there seems to be
no respite from it. The local people have been hard hit by the tourism menace as they have been
marginalized from the most important places of the nation as the flooding of tourists have caused
the locals to shift to some other place contrary to their desire. The author is not against tourism
rather the point being made by the author is that it should be planned so that the untoward
consequences could be avoided.

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Venizelos, L.E., 2016. The endangered loggerheads of Zakynthos (Greece): A part of the
Mediterranean Sea turtle. Conservation issue. The formation of medasset (Mediterranean
Association to Save the Sea Turtles).
This particular article deals with the issue of the loss of habitat of the sea turtle species
named Loggerhead and also known as Caretta Caretta which is the scientific name of the animal.
The illegal construction of the hotels have led to the loss of habitat of the sea turtle. Greece is a
popular tourist destination and the huge number of tourists going to the nation has caused the
beaches to become overcrowded and polluted as a result of which the sea turtles Loggerhead is
facing problem in breeding and is thus becoming endangered. The most pressing and negative
impact of tourism that has happened in Greece is that of the speed boats and the plastic bags. The
speedboats are a popular method of enjoying the sporty activities of the sea and the plastic bags
which are discarded by the tourists get consumed by the turtles as they think the plastic bags to
be jelly fish. This is causing the death of the sea turtles in huge numbers and they are almost
being pushed to the extent of endangerment. The Greek government has signed several
international conventions to save the turtles from endangerment but they are being blatantly
violated and nothing is being done by the government to combat the negative effects of tourism.
Policy Implications
Kakoudakis, K.I. and McCabe, S., 2018. Social tourism as a modest, yet sustainable,
development strategy: policy recommendations for Greece. Journal of Policy Research in
Tourism, Leisure and Events, 10(3), pp.189-203.
This particular essay deals with the recommendation of the inculcation of the policy
implication of social tourism apart from the sustainable development strategy which is already

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followed in the nation. Social tourism as explained by the authors implies making the option of
tourism to be available to even the poorer section of the society, with the intention of helping
them to complete their education and their recreational desires. The current facilities which are
available in Greece are only meant for catering to the affluent sections of the society, especially
from the foreign nations who can spend a lot to experience the wonders of Greece. There are
very few options that cater to the needs of the less affluent sections of the society, and Greece
could benefit by the introduction of policies which could include social tourism as a part of the
sustainable tourism. The policy recommendations include setting up of cheaper facilities such as
home stay and other hostel facilities which could be affordable for the ones who cannot afford
the highly priced star rated hotel accommodation and eating facilities provided by the luxurious
hotels sprawling across the nation. The reason behind recommending the policy of introducing
the social tourism facilities in Greece is primarily economic in nature. Given the fact that the
recent political and economic unrest in Greece has affected tourism in Greece hence it is unlikely
that only catering to the affluent sections of the society shall be beneficial to the Greek society.
The development of facilities by means of aid from the government aid shall not just be helpful
for the tourists having limited means to spend in tourism and education but also for the local
people who can earn from it and sustain themselves. There is also the advantage of the
preservation of the cultural heritage of the nation and the tourists visiting Greece can also have
an opportunity to experience the true taste of Greek culture at its best which shall not be
tarnished by the wave of catering to the taste of the wide variety of clients at the cost of
depreciating the cultural value of the self.
Lowen, M., 2014. Tourists return as austerity-hit Greece emerges from crisis. [online] BBC
News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27989995

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Despite the austerity measures and the financial crisis in Greece, the tourism has not been
affected which had appeared as a surprise to many. A great hue and cry had been raised in
Greece when the austerity measures were imposed in the nation for the purpose of dealing with
the debt crisis which had amounted itself to 240 billion Euros. Greece had become the first
nation of the developed first world to be affected by such a financial crisis. Tourism had been
affected for quite a long period of time in Greece because of the economic crisis that had hit
Greece. Violent demonstrations causing political instability and putting the security issue of the
people and also of the tourists at threat had caused the tourism to be hit very badly in Greece, and
all of it for the sake of the opposition to the austerity measures imposed by the government of the
nation. The austerity measures had included had increase in the level of the taxes and at the same
time cutting down on the sum allotted for social welfare scheme and reduction of the pension,
which had made it difficult for the people of the nation to deal with the rising cost and the mass
unemployment, a result of the debt crisis of the nation. Banks had to be shut down forcing the
tourists and the travelers to carry cash in enormous amount, and causing the ones carrying cards
to be stranded at the destination. This had discouraged many to opt out of Greece as their tourist
destination. However the policy of the austerity measures which had initially caused problem in
the tourism sector of Greece, had in the recent times proven to be beneficial for the nation and
also for the development of the tourism in the nation. The seaside beaches and the hotels had
started their normal business once again as the government trough the imposition of the policy of
austerity measures had brought stability to the nation. The financial crisis had been brought
under control by means of solving the debt crisis, by means of paying the debt off and the
political stability and the fiscal processes had been brought under control which had made the
normal business operations to flourish once again with normalcy. Thus the policy of introduction

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of the austerity measures which had initially caused serious havoc to the tourism sector of
Greece had in the long run acted as blessing in disguise.