Paralia – Katerini, Greece, or how dramatic can changes be in the ...

398 Georgios Zografos, Alex Deffrer
Cyclades dominate the “imaging of Greece” (Deffner and Zografos, 2005, p. 3). Local
authorities have to be more effective in pressuring central government to ensure their
equal promotion in Greek national tourism campaigns. A cost benefit analysis (Snell,
1997, p. 45) could reveal if the price paid for the level of local development which has
been achieved is worth.
8. Conclusions
Tourism is the main reliable developmental force in Greek regions and that is why it
should be a priority for the Greek state to solve the problems its dynamic destinations
face. The unorthodox type of the development of Paralia during the previous years has
led to a sharp increase of the value of land, but it also resulted in a variety of problems.
Paralia is the driving force for Pieria’s economy. Further improvements in its
performance and the consequent continuation of the upward trend in the destination’s
life cycle would significantly benefit the region’s economy. Large scale interventions and
successful place marketing seem to be the only way to achieve that.
Acknowledgments
This Paper was presented in the Joint Congress of the European Regional Science
Association (47th Congress) and ASRDLF (Association de Science Régionale de
Langue Française, 44th Congress), PARIS - August 29th - September 2nd, 2007
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