Athens as an international tourism destination

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……………….