dossier sur le tourisme et le développement durable

62
Political scope
resorts in liaison with the inland territory, the maintenance of bio-diversity and natural balances
along the coast and in the ponds, the fight against coastal erosion and the modernising of harbour
activities.
Source: TEC, from « Mission interministérielle d’aménagement du Languedoc-Roussillon »
Frame 14: the three stages of the Greek tourism policy
A. The period of craft-based tourism and State intervention (1950-1966)
The period was characterised by accommodation of limited size (40 beds per hotel on average),
poor organisation of the sector of activity, unskilled jobs and a modest flow of international arrivals (1
million in 1966). The State wanted to attract part of the growing number of international tourists after
the war and to assume the triple role of supplier of services and facilities (roads, airports), of builder
and manager of tourist facilities, and of fund-supplier via directly or indirectly state-controlled banks.
B. The period of industrial tourism and private investments (1967-1991)
The scepticism of private investors with regard to tourism lasted until 1965. After this date and
especially during the period of the colonels (1967-1974), the situation changed as the investment
incentives and tourist demand were rising, limiting the risks taken by private capital investment. Tour
operators began to intervene in the organisation and the spreading of the activity, either by the
promotion of some areas or by financing private investment in areas of high demand. This period
corresponded to professionalism based on industrial methods. Naturally, the craft-based tourism
continued to exist together with this industrial tourism, but it was the large producers and the
distributors who led the way.
The growth rate in the number of beds was sustained with very high concentration in certain spots
despite diversification of the subsidies and of the construction programmes for facilities in the less
developed regions. At the same time, there was a rise in the development of illegal constructions
due to high demand for accommodation and to land speculation that was unprecedented in tourist
areas. Problems due to saturation and the degradation of some areas became more and more
visible. This evolution, combined with competition from emerging destinations in the Mediterranean
and elsewhere led to a decrease in receipts for the local enterprises. A crisis period had begun.
C. The crisis period: State withdrawal and European support (since 1991)
Many arguments have been proposed to explain the crisis in Greek tourism: the end of the cycle of
mass tourism and substitution by alternative types, the lack of a coherent tourism policy at national,
regional and local levels, the inefficiency of the legal framework and of administrative departments,
deficiencies in the facilities and services proposed by the State and territorial authorities, difficulties
of cooperation among the players concerned, the small size of the tourist enterprises, the level of
training of the entrepreneurs and the employees, the lack of quality services, the high dependence
on tour operators, the high concentration of tourist offer in a restricted number of areas and the very
short tourist season.
The objectives of the tourist policy expressed lately are the diversification of tourism with the
development of new types by enhancing its unique assets, improvement in quality to attract a
wealthier clientele, the opening up to emerging tourist markets in order to diversify the visitors and
last, the promotion of sustainable tourism.
This policy has been given a formal framework and is financed by the Community Support
Frameworks of the European Union who have become the main source of finance for national
activity programmes as well as regional ones. This period corresponds to the retreat of the State and
its role as a producer (sale of or long term contracts for the establishments built during the first
tourism development phase).
Source: TEC and Ioannis Spilanis (Greece)