An empirical investigation to the city’s imagery & the

role of local DMO’s

INDEPENDENT STUDY

Athens International Tourism Destination

“ 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

Identify the role of DMOs in promoting

Athens as a tourist destination

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

2.555.355 2.619.455

11.413.792

12.645.214

0

2.000.000

4.000.000

6.000.000

8.000.000

10.000.000

12.000.000

14.000.000

2012 2013

Athens

Total Greece

Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE, 2013)

Destination Marketing

Destination framework

Destination Marketing Efficiency

Key determinants Author Destination Marketing efficiency

Chaitip et al. (2008) Satisfaction of the travel cost

Integrated tourism product

Tourism product attributes

Tourism product management

Buhalis (2001) 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

Stankovic et al. (2012) Organization of cultural and sport events

Lopes (2011) Demographic features of the tourists

Echtner and Ritchie (2003) 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

Publish tourist material such as tourist guides, thematic brochures, maps, special editions

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

Promote Athens in the markets of China, Russia, Turkey and USA

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

DMOs are aware of their strategic role & have established strong and long term relationships with DMOs abroad

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

Promotion of Athens requires a more concerted effort between the public and the private stakeholders

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

I am the type of person who loves to learn and always seeks to obtain more

I am especially passionate about learning things that pertain to my major and my future career

Me…the 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

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

I appreciate your help

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-tourism-

entities 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-tourism-

entities 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

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

From Google image with the use of presentation titles, as search keywords

For Q&A’s contact me!

Email: s.lan

gkos@

em

c.ed

u.gr

#EnjoyAthens

Enjoy Your trip!

Always Remember…

………..……..FINALLY……………….