How has the economic crisis affected tourism in Greece?

Abstract

The economic crisis that started in 2007 and had previously affected a large part of the world reached Greece in 2009, leading to a series of reforms and repercussions that affected not only Greece, but also the rest of Europe. The current dissertation examines the causes and consequences of the Greek economic crisis, focusing particularly on the tourism sector, with the aim to assess how the Greek economic crisis affected tourism. The first part of the dissertation is an introduction to the topic, explaining the aim and objectives of the study, followed by a short overview of Greece and its economic situation in recent years. This is followed by a literature review, looking firstly at the European Union and its association with Greece, followed by an overview of the Greek economy and the adoption of the Euro as the official currency of the country. The literature review then focuses on Greek recession and the impact this had on the country at the political, social and economic level. Finally the literature review focuses on tourism in Greece, and how this has been affected by the recession. The literature review provides an insight into what had already been published on the topic researched. This section is followed by the methodology section, which explains the research methods selected and used in this dissertation. The researcher chose to conduct a number of semi-structured interviews to obtain the data required for this study, as it was deemed as the most appropriate method for collecting information. Following the methodology section is the discussion and analysis of results section, which includes an analysis of the answers obtained during the interviews conducted by the researcher, and a comparison of the answers with iv literature already published. For this dissertation, interviews carried out on three members of the government in power during the recession period of 2009-2011; the Prime Minister Mr. George Papandreou, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Mr. George Petalotis and the Deputy Minister of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, Mr. Sokratis Xinidis. The dissertation finally ends with the conclusion section, which summarises and highlights the findings of this study, and includes future recommendations on what would be required to take this research further as well as the limitations of the research. Overall, analysis of the results of the current research indicate that the Greek economic crisis had a profound impact on the tourism sector, as well as most other sectors of Greece’s infrastructure. Many reforms had to be put in place in an attempt to rescue the country and avoid bankruptcy, and these have affected the economic power and reputation of Greece, thus affecting both local and foreign tourism. However, although in the beginning of the crisis pessimism took over, Greece appears to have embraced the necessary changes imposed, becoming a far more welcoming and inviting country for tourists. If the current trend continues, Greece will soon be in a much stronger position on global tourism than it has ever been before, taking advantage of globalisation and the open markets.