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262 Greece
Greece
Greece has a long tradition in tourism, mainly due
to its history and ancient civilisation which
regarded foreigners as sacred. Its tourism product
is composed of an amalgam of natural, cultural and
heritage attractions, including some 15,000 miles
of coastline, 2,500 islands, diverse fauna and flora,
mild winters and warm summers, 25,000 registered
and protected monuments and archaeological sites,
numerous museums and about 500 traditional
settlements.
As a land of rich economic, religious and
intellectual activity for more than three and a half
millennia, geographically spread on an archipelago
located at the southeastern corner of Europe on a
crossroad to Africa and Asia, Greece inevitably has
stimulated tourism activity since the beginning of
documented humanity. In modern years, organised
tourism commenced after the Second World War,
and expanded rapidly after the mid-1970s. Not
surprisingly, tourism grew especially on island
destinations and regions with historical monuments.
Amenities are offered by a plethora of small
enterprises. A total of 7,500 official hotels offer half
a million beds, while about 1 million unregistered
beds are provided. Moreover, 11,000 beds in cruise
liners and 12,000 in yachts, as well as 83,000
camping spaces, accommodate all types of demand.
About 20,000 restaurants and countless
catering and entertainment establishments are on
offer. Some 7,000 travel agencies, 1,500 coach
rental firms and some 4,000 car rental agencies are
estimated to operate throughout the country. The
tourism product is distributed mainly by European
tour operators who organise package tours.
There are about 800 tour operators in Greece.
Accessibility is facilitated through thirty-two airports,
most of which can receive direct international
flights. Olympic Airways and other private
airlines provide an extensive network, while a
complex network of sea, road and rail transportation
facilitates passenger transportation.
Since the early 1950s Greece has enjoyed a
growth in arrivals. In 1950, over 33,000 foreign
tourists arrived; this figure rose to 11.3 million in
1994. About 75 per cent of visits are concentrated
in the May to September period. Germany and
the United Kingdom contribute almost 25 per
cent of the total volume each, while Italy,
Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Austria are
the other main markets. In 1993, about 48.5
million bed nights were recorded, 75 per cent of
which were by international tourists. More than 75
per cent of tourists arrive by air and 58 per cent by
charter flights, indicating that they are on package
holidays. About 90 per cent were holiday makers,
while only 7 per cent travelled for business and 3
per cent for other reasons. The average length of
stay is fourteen days, while the average expenditure
per capita in 1993 was $354. Research on
tourist segmentation, motivation, attitudes and
satisfaction is inadequate �see also market
segmentation).
The tourism policy is overseen by the Greek
National Tourism Organisation and the Ministry of
Tourism. The two organisations share the responsibilities
for planning, implementation and promotion
at both national and regional levels, as well
as coordinating the public and private sectors.
Public investment in commercial facilities was
utilised in the past to stimulate both tourism
demand and the confidence of the private sector
to invest. A wide range of incentives have also
been utilised since the early 1980s to improve the
existing facilities and stimulate the development
of high quality amenities. The national organisation
operates twenty-one regional and twenty-five
overseas offices �in eighteen countries) mainly
responsible for promotion and marketing. There
are no regional tourism boards, although counties
and local agencies often establish working groups
for the promotion and coordination of the local
industry.
The Ministry of Development and the National
Tourism Organisation are responsible for national
policy. Unfortunately, there is a lack of a comprehensive
master plan. Hence policy is usually
based on generic mid-term policy objectives: to
increase arrivals and foreign exchange income,
to enhance competitiveness, to improve services
in the industry, to reduce seasonality, to
attract high spenders and alternative tourism,
to construct up-market facilities such as luxury
hotels, golf courses, congress centres, casinos and
marinas, to develop infrastructure with emphasis
on transportation, to support social tourism