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| Athena's prize: The Acropolis
towers over Athens with the impressive Parthenon
perched on the summit |
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Photo by G. Kavalierakis
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According to the World Tourism Organization
(WTO), after four years of stagnant growth, travel
confidence returned "robustly" in 2004.
So what happened to Greece? Despite playing host
to the Olympics, tourism numbers were nowhere near
those anticipated. A tardy promotion campaign coupled
with negative reports of Olympic organization and
security anxieties conspired against the industry.
In the event, Greece hosted one of the most spectacular
and memorable Olympics in the history of the Games.
"One of the major questions," says the
WTO discussing global travel trends, "is how
much pent-up demand is still in the pipeline?"
For Greece, the answer is a lot.
Last year saw the country placed
firmly in the international spotlight. Aside from
the major success of the Olympics there was the
improbable soccer victory in the European Cup -
the equivalent of the Boston Red Sox winning the
World Series. Add to this the release of the movies
Troy and Alexander and it’s easy to see why,
this year, Greece is in vogue.
So confident is the Government in its country’s
pulling-power that tourism is being touted as the
spearhead of Greece’s development policy over
the next decade.
With the WTO forecasting a 50 percent
hike in travelers to the Mediterranean by 2025,
the Greek Ministry of Tourism is steering the sector
on a high-speed course for change. While certain
parts of Greece will still cater to the sun-seekers,
much of the industry will be geared towards higher-end
tourists in search of sophisticated leisure retreats.
There has also been some serious flirting with foreign
markets including; India, Turkey, and potentially
the biggest market of all, China. The talks are
still at first base, but if Greece can negotiate
an airline to do direct flights from Athens to Beijing,
it will be third base faster than you can say newlyweds.
Large expatriate communities are
also being targeted; there are 1.2 million Greek-Americans
in the US alone. Indeed, American travelers, (whether
of Greek origin or not) are the darlings of the
Greek tourism industry spending four times more
than the average tourist. With one of the lowest
crime rates in Europe Greece is among the safest
destinations in the world – a point well received
by all holidaymakers but especially jittery post
9/11 travelers.
American interest in Greece as a
tourism destination appears to be on the rise chiefly
because of the positive impression created during
the Games. A recently launched advertising campaign
will build upon the upbeat post-Olympic vibe. At
a cost of $39 million the new campaign (currently
running in 27 countries) is the biggest investment
of its kind in Greece.
The campaign invites prospective
visitors to first ‘discover’ and then
‘live’ their very own myth in Greece.
Transformation is a common theme in Greek mythology
and the core concept behind the new campaign –
"Live your myth in Greece" - is to imbue
visitors with the feeling that, while in Greece,
they will somehow be transformed through their experiences.
"Overcoming the stereotypes in tourism communication,
which is quite often limited to the projection of
beautiful scenery and ancient monuments, the center
of this campaign is man", says Yannis Goulios,
General Manager of McCann Erickson Athens, one of
a consortium of four advertising agencies responsible
for the campaign. "We believe that this is
the element that makes the difference. At the same
time this is also the link with the main focus of
the 2004 Olympiad held in Athens, which brought
the human meter back to the constitution of the
Olympic Games."
As with most advertising concepts,
it does sound slighlty abstract, but there is a
logic behind it. Greece’s rich mythological
past is very much a part of its present ethos and
landscape. For example, no matter where you are
in central Athens you will not be far from a view
of the Parthenon. Dedicated to the goddess Athena,
the temple rises from the Acropolis hill and provides
a constant reminder of Greece’s heritage. Such
offerings to appease the gods are scattered around
the mainland and islands – although the Parthenon
is by far the most grand.
More than anything the campaign illustrates
how determined the new government is to push the
sector forward. They may be forgiven for their former
advertising tardiness. Having won the elections
in March 2004 the conservative New Democracy party’s
first priority was to make sure Greece was ready
on time for the Olympic Games. Prime Minister Kostas
Karamanlis took firm hold of the reigns himself
and assumed the position of Minister of Culture
for the duration. The Tourism Ministry, abolished
in the early 90s, was re-established and the Greek
National Tourism Organization (GNTO) was upgraded
through investment and the adoption of a new and
more efficient structure.
Tourism Minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos,
has warned that there is no "magic wand"
to reverse the downturn in visitor numbers, but
is magic really necessary? Tourism Development Co
(a real estate asset management entity of GNTO)
is sitting on a portfolio numbering over 350 assets
scattered throughout Greece many of which are undeveloped
sites. The rest include casinos, marinas, hotels,
organized beaches, natural springs, golf courses,
ski centers and the list goes on. Greece has all
the ingredients it needs to be a top tier tourism
destination, what it lacked, up until now, was a
coordinated policy to help the industry evolve.
With the Olympics out of the way,
the government can channel its full energy into
upgrading and developing the tourism product. Weaning
the industry off its seasonal dependency is the
most important challenge. Emphasis is now being
placed upon informing potential visitors of the
diverse range of holidays available in Greece. Golfing
holidays, in particular, represent a major potential
growth area - Greece has a total of six golf courses.
The problem is informing the American public about
these opportunities.
Disseminating tourism information
in the States is becoming increasing difficult as
the number of travel agents decrease. Minister Avramopoulos
is tackling this through the creation of "tourism
attachés" and the concept of "tourism
diplomacy". The moves come as part of the complete
restructuring of Greek tourism offices abroad.
With the WTO predicting worldwide
growth for international tourism in 2005 of between
five and eight percent, (significantly above the
long-term average rate for worldwide international
tourism of 4.1% a year), informing holidaymakers
has never been so important.
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Greece 
