INDEPENDENT STUDΥ “Athens as an international tourism destination: An empirical investigation to the city’s imagery and the role of local DMOs.” 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. ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is 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. For that purposes, 6 personal interviews were conducted with executives who were working in 6 famous local DMOs operating both generally in Greece and specifically in Athens. The result of this study indicated that DMOs are playing a crucial role for the promotion of Athens as a tourist destination. DMOs key responsibilities include: development of sophisticated online marketing strategies, creation of high quality published material, participation in international tourism fairs for developing relationships with key stakeholders and development of network synergies with airline companies, and international tourism organizations. Athens is a destination with great potential for future growth and for that reason DMOs have designed certain plans for the next three years in order to exploit the opportunities which are presented. The future plans of the DMOs give particular emphasis in the opening in new tourist markets and more particularly in the markets of Russia, Turkey China, and USA. Besides, DMOs will focus in five forms of tourism which can be developed successfully in Athens, namely: 1) cultural tourism, 2) health tourism, 3) luxury tourism, 4) city break tourism, and 5) convention tourism On the other hand, the executives of the DMOs underlined several problems which prevent the tourism development of Athens. The majority of these problems are related with the business environment in Greece which has become less competitive due to the crisis. Besides, the city as a destination faces the problems of seasonality as well as missing infrastructures. Finally, the research showed that DMOs have established strong and long term relationships with DMOs in foreign countries. These partnerships allow the Greek DMOs to be updated concerning the trends of the global tourism market as well as enhance the movement of tourists between cooperating countries. Nevertheless, the promotion of Athens as a tourism destination requires a more concerted effort between the public and the private stakeholders which are involved in the tourism industry. The benefits will be multiplied for businesses, the state and the society in general. Destination Marketing Organizations, DMO’s tourist product, popularity & imagery, interviews, online marketing strategies, Athens, Greece, international tourism fairs,

1. An empirical investigation
to the city’s imagery & the
role of local DMO’s
Athens
International Tourism Destination
INDEPENDENT STUDY

2. “ Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of
arts and eloquence, native to famous
wits”
John Milton,
Paradise Regained, bk.4, l.240^1

3. Why I chose this subject ?
“ Travel makes one modest.
You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ”
Gustave Flaubert

4. 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

5. Objectives of the Study

6. 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

7. 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

8. DMO Responsibilities

9. Key responsibilities
 Develop online marketing strategies
 Create high quality material
 Participate in international tourism
fairs
 Develop network synergies

10. Tourism in Greece

11. 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

12. Athens as a Tourist
Destination

13. International arrivals
11,413,792
2,555,355 2,619,455
12,645,214
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
2012 2013
Athens
Total Greece
Source: Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE, 2013)

14. Destination Marketing

15. Destination framework

16. Destination Marketing
Efficiency

17. 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

18. Destination Branding

19. Brand image

20. Branding framework

21. Branding elements

22. Destination Management

23. Management model

24. Strategic planning

25. Sustainability framework

26. Destination Marketing
Organizations

27. WNTO framework

28. Destination firms

29. The goals of DMOs

30. The Role of DMOs

31. Role of DMOs

32. DMO’s in Athens

33. Local DMOs in Athens

34. Interview Guide

35. 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

36. 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?

37. 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

38. Characteristics of Athens

39. Market positioning
 Natural beauty, clean seas, sunlight
 Historical monuments & archaeological
sites
 Offer high level cultural tourism
 Congress tourism initiatives

40. 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)

41. 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

42. Promotion Activities

43. DMOs main activities
 Create publications
 Joint advertising activities
 Create online portals
 Develop membership programs
 Create of promotional souvenirs
 Conduct market research

44. 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

45. 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

46. Future Plans

47. 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

48. Opening new markets
 Promote Athens in the markets
of China, Russia, Turkey and USA
 Brazil and India are also two key
markets

49. Problems of Athens

50. Economic recession
 Influenced competitiveness
 Very high taxation
 Value Added Tax (VAT) in Greece
is relatively high (23 %)

51. 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

52. Infrastructure problems
 The city needs more high quality hotel
 Improvement in the public transport
 The coastal front should be connected
more easily

54. Recommendations

55. Recommendations
 Changes in the income tax
 Reductions in VAT
 Construct peripheral airports
Arrange debts of tourism companies

56. DMOs Relationships

57. Partnership network
 Update concerning the global trends
 Enhance the movement of tourists
between cooperating countries
 Develop an advanced know-how

58. Regional development

59. Findings

60. Insights & new trends
 Popular destination in the
global tourism market with many
growth prospects
 International identity of the
country’s destinations

61. 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

62. 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

64. 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

65. 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

66. Research Suggestions

67. Future research
 Conduct more interviews
 Compare the role of the DMOs in
different destinations
Use quantitative research approaches

68. Charts & Data

69. Greek tourism statistics

70. Greek tourism statistics

71. Personal Reflection

73. 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. ”

74. Living the Experience

75. 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

76. 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

77. Me…the Researcher!

78. Reading for the thesis
 Many scientific articles
 Relevant literature
 Previous research on topic

79. …Like any journey, some of the most
memorable experiences come from
side trips that take us out of our
comfort zones, changing us forever

80. 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

81. When we find what we look
for…
The view of our discovery
is compensating

82. 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

83. Acknowledgements

84. 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

85. Post-Graduate
side of Life!

86. Read my thesis here

87. Bibliography &
References

88. 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

89. Keywords & Terms

90. 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

91. 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

92. For Q&A’s contact me!
Email: s.langkos@emc.edu.gr

93. #EnjoyAthens

94. Enjoy Your trip! 

95. Always Remember…

96. ………..……..FINALLY……………….