M.Sc in Marketing Management
INDEPENDENT STUDΥ “Athens as an international tourism destination: An empirical investigation to the city’s imagery and the role of local DMO’s.” SPYROS LANGOS ID: 100285557
Supervisor: Mr. George Roumeliotis Athens, September 2014 Academic Year 2013 – 2014
“Athens as an international tourism destination: An empirical investigation to the city’s imagery and the role of local DMO’s.”
The aim of this project was to identify the role of DMOs in promoting Athens as a tourist destination, as well as to evaluate their effectiveness in terms of marketing and managing the tourist product of Athens, its popularity and imagery.
“ Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
Gustave Flaubert
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Aim and objectives of the study The tourism industry in Greece is one of the most important sectors of the country’s economy it terms of value (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2014). There are several public and private organizations which are involved in the tourism industry in Greece for promoting destinations such as the Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). In this context, the aim of this project is to evaluate the contribution of Athens DMO’s towards the rising popularity of the city of Athens as an international destination within the context of Destination Marketing. More specifically, the project has the following objectives: To identify the activities which are performed by DMOs for promoting Athens and to evaluate the strategic role of DMO’s. To identify the importance of destination marketing through its application in the Greek Tourism Industry and the particular case of Athens. To portrait the opinions and activity planning of Greek DMO’s Executives, who are considered to be experts in the tourism field. To provide insights and new trends of high informational value about the Tourism Industry in Athens. To highlight the latest incentives and programming concerning the city’s future developments.
To identify the key problems that Athens faces as a tourist destination and to recommend points for improvement from the DMOs perspective.
There were numerous reasons for which the study subject was selected. First of all, numerous researchers (Buhalis & Michopoulou, 2011, Pike, 2008) have highlighted the importance of Destination Marketing and Destination Management for effectively promoting and managing the tourism product. These two concepts have become even more important nowadays that Greece as a whole suffers from the economic crisis that has started since the second half of 2008. Given that tourism, is one of the most important sectors in Greece, especially as far as its contribution to revenues (16.4% of GDP) and employment (18.3% of total employment) is concerned, promoting and effectively managing the Greek tourism product nowadays is probably most important than ever (SETE, 2013). In the meantime, the case of Athens is not as easy as the case of Greek islands to be promoted for summer holidays, rather, Athens has to compete with major European capitals, which also form very famous and important tourism destinations. Within the above context, it was considered as very interesting to identify and evaluate the actions undertaken during the crisis in order to change the positioning of the city of Athens as a tourism destination, in the mind of the international visitor. This will help in identifying weaknesses, as well as proposing ways in which DMOs improve their role in terms of promoting Athens as a major tourism destination, while at the same time providing important implications for the state itself as well.
1.2 Tourism in Greece The importance of tourism in the Greek Economy can be reflected with the figures which are illustrated in table 1.1. More particularly, tourism accounted for 16.4% in the end of 2012, while at the same time contributing to the 18,3% of the national employment rates, occupying more than 688,000 employees in the particular year. Greece has a share of 2.95% in the European tourism industry and is ranked 17th, attracting 15 million tourists on average on an annual basis. Tourists in Greece mainly come from Germany (13,6%), followed by UK (12,4%).
Greek tourism is highly subject to seasonality, with June, July, and August being the months attracting more international visitors, due to the high popularity of Greek islands (SETE, 2013). According to Buhalis & Deimezi (2003), Greece lacks coordination of the various parties involved in the tourism industry, and as a result it fails to take advantage of its tourism potential to the extent that it could.
Table 1.1: Greek Tourism Basic Figures, 2012 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 646 Euros
Expenditure European Market Share
2.9 %
World Market Share
1,5 %
Hotel Capacity
9670 Hotels, 771,271 beds
Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, 2013
1.3. Athens as a tourist destination Athens is mainly popular for its ancient history and culture, which are studied and admired worldwide. The capital of Greece attracts the biggest number of tourists than any other place in the country, reporting the arrival of about 2.5 million tourists in 2012 (SETE, 2013). The adaption of the latest information technologies have given Athenian hotels the opportunity to offer exceptional Internet services, while tourism operators offer online reservation and information schemes to serve tourists from all over the world.
The climate of Athens makes it attractive during all seasons of the year, while the city also offers various transportation modes and significant night life. However, it is much more expensive than other European cities, and is also less clean (Igoumenakis, 2000).
For a more detailed view of the tourism in Athens, figure 1.1 illustrates the international tourist arrivals in Athens and in Greece in 2012 and 2013. As it is presented below, the arrivals in Athens and in the whole country increased in 2013. In more details, in 2012 11.413.792 international tourists arrived in Athens whereas in 2013 the arrivals increased reaching the 2.619.455. In the same length, the arrivals of tourists in Greece in 2012 were 11.413.792 and in 2013 increased to 12.645.214.
14.000.000 12.645.214 12.000.000
11.413.792
10.000.000
8.000.000 Athens Total Greece
6.000.000
4.000.000 2.619.455
2.555.355 2.000.000
0 2012
2013
Figure 1.1: International Tourist Arrivals in Greece and in Athens in 2012 and 2013, Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE, 2014)