Linking Culture and the Environment

D. Ioannides 67
by national or regional institutions to implement a top-down regulatory
framework or environmental policies, especially if they perceive these measures
to directly contradict their own economic growth priorities (Ioannides,
1995a; Martin, 2006). Andriotis (2006, p. 1085) mentions that ‘most Greeks
view land as a way to create wealth, to increase social status, and to pass on
wealth to their children’. In his study of tourism development in Crete, he
noted that property owners, especially those with land in coastal areas, were
encouraged by the rise in tourist arrivals during the 1960s and 1970s to abandon
agricultural practices and develop on a speculative basis tourism-related
structures, including a significant number of second homes.
Exogenous groups (e.g. international organizations such as Friends of
the Earth or Greenpeace, or national environmental bodies) show genuine
concern about the possible environmental problems generated by the nascent
tourist industry. This has occurred in the Akamas peninsula and parts of
Zakynthos because of the threat of coastal development on the breeding
grounds of rare species of turtles (Ryan, 1991; Ioannides, 1995a). However,
based on what happened in these areas, there appear to be few supporters of
environmental groups in the community. Indeed, local leaders and business
concerns are likely to adopt a campaign depicting environmental groups as
radical ‘tree-huggers’ (Ioannides, 1995a). It is, of course, possible that some
local entrepreneurs (though certainly not the majority) given the growing
awareness concerning ecotourism (regardless of stage of development) may
actually support efforts to protect certain sensitive areas, if they can see a
direct financial benefit in doing so. On the island of Lesvos, for example, and
especially in Kaloni Bay, which is an important breeding ground for migratory
birds, some local entrepreneurs have recognized the financial opportunity
to be derived from catering to birdwatchers and other ecotourists and
have supported efforts to limit developments that directly affect this area.
Overall, however, these players are very much in the minority at the moment;
it would be interesting to study over time whether more local entrepreneurs
in a newly discovered destination will actually become outspoken proponents
of environmental protection as they see this as the only way to safeguard
the very assets that draw visitors.
Development Stage
At this stage mass tourism has set in (Table 4.2). This is witnessed on certain
islands of the Aegean and Ionian archipelago (e.g. Cephalonia, Skiathos) or
the area around Polis in north-western Cyprus. Foreign actors (especially
tour operators) have discovered the destination and are taking the initiative
in its promotion. To these players such a destination presents the opportunity
for profit. Meanwhile, local authorities are excited about the sector’s
rapid growth, especially in terms of its financial returns, and wish to maintain
a laissez-faire business atmosphere despite the appearance of some serious
environmental or societal problems. At this stage, the priorities of local
authorities, businesses and developers may conflict with those of regional or