Investigating winter tourism in Greece: challenges and suggestions

Abstract

Tourism is an activity that holds since antiquity and brings significant benefits to the region where it is applied. The influence of tourism becomes significant both at a collective and an individual level since tourism contributes to the increase in states’ revenue and to the boost of the economy but also individually as it achieves the contact and the communication of people with different cultures and habits. Thus, each region develops the form of tourism that fits in its own profile and is shaped according to the climate of its time and its infrastructures. Due to climate and geographic location, Greece has set up a heliocentric tourism model and has been supporting the development of summer tourism for many decades. Unlike summer tourism, in recent years, our country has started developing more alternative and special forms of tourism, one of which is winter tourism that is becoming more and more popular and is attracting a significant number of tourists. For a country like Greece, winter tourism contrasts with the massive tourist model of Greece “sun-sea-sand” and its development could help to improve the general image of today's tourism but also reduce many of the consequences created by the mass tourism. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the phenomenon of winter tourism in Greece and prospects for its development through specific promotional proposals. In order to achieve the aim of this diploma, a survey was carried out using the method of questionnaires. The results show that winter tourism in Greece is not as developed as other neighboring countries and there is room for improvement.