An empirical investigation to the city’s imagery & the role of local DMO’s
Athens International Tourism Destination INDEPENDENT STUDY
“ Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits� John Milton, Paradise Regained, bk.4, l.240^1
Why I chose this subject ?
Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ” “
Gustave Flaubert
Aim of the project ďƒ˜ Identify the role of DMOs in promoting Athens as a tourist destination
ďƒ˜ Evaluate their effectiveness in terms of marketing and managing
Objectives of the Study
Impact of the study Evaluate the contribution of Athens DMO’s towards the rising popularity of the city, as an international destination within the context of
Destination Marketing
Objectives of the study Identify the activities for promoting Athens Identify the importance of destination marketing Portrait the opinions and activity planning of
Greek DMO’s
Provide insights and new trends on the Tourism Industry
Highlight the latest incentives concerning the city’s future developments
Identify the key problems of Athens & points for improvement
DMO Responsibilities
Key responsibilities Develop online marketing strategies
Create high quality material Participate in international tourism fairs
Develop network synergies
Tourism in Greece
Greek tourism figures Element
Value
Contribution to GDP
16,4 %
Contribution to employment
18,3 %
Employment
688.800
International Tourist Receipts
10 billion Euros
International Tourist Arrivals
15,5 millions
Average per Capita Tourism Expenditure
646 Euros
European Market Share
2.9 %
World Market Share
1,5 %
Hotel Capacity
9670 Hotels, 771,271 beds
Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, 2013
Athens as a Tourist Destination
International arrivals 14.000.000 12.645.214
12.000.000
11.413.792
10.000.000
Athens
8.000.000
Total Greece 6.000.000
4.000.000 2.619.455
2.555.355
2.000.000
0
2012
2013
Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE, 2013)
Destination Marketing
Destination framework
Destination Marketing Efficiency
Key determinants Author Chaitip et al. (2008)
Buhalis (2001)
Stankovic et al. (2012) Lopes (2011) Echtner and Ritchie (2003)
Destination Marketing efficiency Satisfaction of the travel cost Integrated tourism product Tourism product attributes Tourism product management Enhance the satisfaction of tourist and delight the visitor Strengthen long term competitiveness and profitability of the local tourism industry and of the local small and medium-sized tourism enterprises Develop the sustainability of the destinations and ensure prosperity of host population Organization of cultural and sport events Demographic features of the tourists Scenery and natural attractions Pricing strategies Hospitality and friendliness Tourist activities Nightlife and entertainment Sport facilities / General facilities National parks and museums Local infrastracture and transportation Accommodation
Destination Branding
Brand image
Branding framework
Branding elements
Destination Management
Management model
Strategic planning
Sustainability framework
Destination Marketing Organizations
WNTO framework
Destination firms
The goals of DMOs
The Role of DMOs
Role of DMOs
DMO’s in Athens
Local DMOs in Athens
Interview Guide
Qualitative research The aim is a complete, detailed description Researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for Recommended during earlier phases of research projects The design emerges as the study unfolds Researcher is the data gathering instrument Data is in the form of words, pictures or objects Subjective – individuals interpretation of events is important, uses participant observation, in-depth interviews, etc Qualitative data is more 'rich', time consuming and less able to be generalized Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter
Areas of discussion
Question 1: What do you think about the popularity of Greece as a tourist destination? Question 2: What do you think about the popularity of Athens as a tourist destination? Question 3: What have you done as an organization to promote Athens ? Question 4: Do you think Athens can become more popular destination in the near future? Question 5: What are the main problems & challenges of Athens as a tourist destination? Question 6: What activities does your organization apply for Athens? Question 7: Which improvements, your organization should make to increase efficiency ? Question 8: What do you think about the role of DMOs in promoting tourism ? Question 9: What can we learn of DMOs in other countries? Question 10: Destination Marketing, can help Athens to develop touristic offers ? Question 11: How do you manage the tourist product of Athens, except for marketing? Do you pay attention to sustainable tourism issues?
Research limitations The size of the sample was relatively small Qualitative research is not allowing the measure of the examined problems
The analysis may be influenced by factors which were not mentioned
Characteristics of Athens
Market positioning Natural beauty, clean seas, sunlight
Historical monuments & archaeological sites Offer high level cultural tourism Congress tourism initiatives
Accommodation in Athens 2014 seems to be a year with many prospects The average stay per guest is near 2 nights 50 % Occupancy of the Hotels in 2013 The average price of hotel rooms is 70 Euros & the revenue per available room 45 Euros (2013)
Visiting experience A stopover for the islands Visit Acropolis, Parthenon & the Acropolis museum Walk in the city center & shopping Most of the tourists are not informed regarding city events
Promotion Activities
DMOs main activities Create publications
Joint advertising activities Create online portals Develop membership programs Create of promotional souvenirs Conduct market research
DMOs main activities Participate in international tourism exhibitions
Hold meetings with hosted buyers and trade visitors Distribute large volumes of information material about city touristic services Establish international collaborations
DMOs main activities ďƒ˜Publish tourist material such as tourist guides, thematic brochures, maps, special editions
ďƒ˜Publish high-quality photos and translations from texts of famous Greek authors
Future Plans
DMO plans for Athens Establish city to the top European destinations Enhance the brand name Develop a communication campaign Cooperate with tour operators, travel agents Create long-term strategy for the city Sponsor selected events in Greece and abroad Open new markets & promote domestic tourism
Opening new markets ďƒ˜ Promote Athens in the markets of China, Russia, Turkey and USA ďƒ˜ Brazil and India are also two key markets
Problems of Athens
Economic recession Influenced competitiveness Very high taxation Value Added Tax (VAT) in Greece is relatively high (23 %)
Seasonality problems Most visits between June and September Affects the amount of revenues Need to be more clean and organized city Complete the major infrastructure projects
Infrastructure problems The city needs more high quality hotel
Improvement in the public transport The coastal front should be connected more easily
Recommendations
Recommendations Changes in the income tax
Reductions in VAT Construct peripheral airports Arrange debts of tourism companies
DMOs Relationships
Partnership network Update concerning the global trends
Enhance the movement of tourists between cooperating countries Develop an advanced know-how
Regional development
Findings
Insights & new trends Popular destination in the global tourism market with many growth prospects International identity of the country’s destinations
DMOs performed activities Focused in the markets of Germany, UK, France, Holland, Italy Focused in seaside leisure tourism and convention tourism. Not a coordinated effort for other types of tourism
DMOs action plan Strategy will be based in 5 key sectors of the Greek Tourism:
1) cultural tourism 2) health tourism 3) luxury tourism 4) city break tourism 5) convention tourism
Results of the study ďƒ˜ DMOs are aware of their strategic role & have established strong and long term relationships with DMOs abroad
ďƒ˜Partnerships allow the Greek DMOs to be updated concerning the trends of the global tourism market as well as to enhance the movement of tourists between cooperating countries
Stakeholders strategic role ďƒ˜Promotion of Athens requires a more concerted effort between the public and the private stakeholders ďƒ˜Multiply the benefits for businesses, the state and the society in general
Research Suggestions
Future research Conduct more interviews Compare the role of the DMOs in different destinations
Use quantitative research approaches
Charts & Data
Greek tourism statistics
Greek tourism statistics
Personal Reflection
Experiential learning Lewis and Williams (1994)
“ In its simplest form, experiential learning means learning from experience or learning by doing. Experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, new attitudes, or new ways of thinking. �
Living the Experience
Learning outcomes I spent many hours doing this project Set goals, you can achieve anything Persistence pays Just push yourself Enjoy what you do, it is much easier to excel Gain new colleagues, partners and friends
Understand self-awareness ďƒ˜ I am the type of person who loves to learn and always seeks to obtain more ďƒ˜ I am especially passionate about learning things that pertain to my major and my future career
Me‌the Researcher!
Reading for the thesis Many scientific articles Relevant literature Previous research on topic
‌Like any journey, some of the most memorable experiences come from side trips that take us out of our comfort zones, changing us forever
Keeping the motive Very intriguing and exciting subject Learned about the Greek tourism market Great value of informational content Task-oriented study Demand of my academic view and critique
When we find what we look for‌ The view of our discovery is compensating
Challenges to overcome Demanding & time-consuming Transcribing all interviews Which data I would use, to produce a unique “product” Become more confident in my interpretation of events and behaviors
Acknowledgements
I appreciate your help Prof. George Roumeliotis. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards, inspired & motivated me
Prof. Ioanna Tsoka, who carefully analyzed the theoretical and research grounds for the study
Dr. George Papadakis, who expressed great trust in my skills and character
My friends and colleagues, who inspired my final efforts despite the enormous work pressures
Post-Graduate side of Life!
Read my thesis here
Bibliography & References
Literary sources
Angella, F. (2008), Destination management and stakeholders' collaboration in urban destinations Angella, F., Go, F., (2010), Tale of two cities’ collaborative tourism marketing: Towards a theory of destination stakeholder assessment, Tourism Management Vol.30, pp.429–440 Bell, J. (2005), Doing your Research Project, Buckingham, Open University Press. Blumberg, K. (2005), “Tourism Destination Marketing –A Tool for Destination Management? A Case Study from Nelson/Tasman Region, New Zealand”, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 10(1): 45-57 Bornhorst, T., Ritchie, B., & Sheehan, L. (2010), “Determinants of tourism success for DMOs & destinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders’ perspectives”, Tourism Management, 31, 572–589 Buhalis D. and Deimezi O., 2004, “E-tourism developments in Greece: Information communication technologies adoption for the strategic management of the Greek tourism industry”, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 5 (2): 103-130. Buhalis, D. (2001), Tourism in Greece: Strategic Analysis and Challenges, Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp.440-480 Buhalis, D., & Michopoulou, E. (2011), “Information-enabled tourism destination marketing: addressing the accessibility market”, Current Issues in Tourism, 14(2): 145–168 Chaitip, P., Chaboonsri, C., Kovacs, S., Balogh, P. (2008), A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL: GREECE’STOURISM DEMAND FOR TOURIST DESTINATION, Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, Vol. 1., pp. 75-83
Keywords & Terms
Electronic sources http://www.all-athens-hotels.com/attica/webpage/athens-tourismentities http://www.developathens.gr/el http://www.athensconventionbureau.gr/ http://www.thisisathens.org/ http://www.gnto.gov.gr/ http://www.gnto.gov.gr/el/marketing http://www.mintour.gr/ http://www.visitgreece.gr/ http://sete.gr/GR/Archiki/ http://www.all-athens-hotels.com/attica/webpage/athens-tourismentities http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE http://gtp.gr http://unwto.org www.iobe.gr www.marketinggreece.com http://www.investingreece.gov.gr
Photo Attribution ďƒ˜ From flickr.com Moimois, syedahurra,anttsichlas, frans sellies, fiorenza baratti, chanc, elia locardi, christophe anagnostopoulou, ioannisdg, ihashb33r, totororo-roro,dimakk, ekounoupamelissa, chartouliarissa, darrellg, lucie, showinmyeyes
ďƒ˜ From Google image with the use of presentation titles, as search keywords
For Q&A’s contact me! Email: s.langkos@emc.edu.gr
#EnjoyAthens
Enjoy Your trip!
Always Remember‌
………..……..FINALLY……………….