chronic weaknesses of a sector that grew hap-
hazardly and had been functioning in a not-so-
rational manner for quite a long time ―with some,
indeed, striking exceptions― mainly focused on
making a quick buck through the use of low qual-
ity equipment, installations and people, and lead-
ing, in the process, to the degradation of the nat-
ural environment.
Today, it is obviously imperative to adopt a new
tourist strategy, more properly adapted to broad
shifts in demand, which are manifest in two main
trends: increased visitor awareness on environ-
Greek tourism is undergoing a crisis, as:
•
Greece’s standard post-war model of tourist
development, which was based on mass tourism
and the exploitation of the sun and sea that
nature amply endowed it with, ran out of steam as
early as the late nineties, a fact reflected not only
on the drop in visitor growth rates, but also in the
gradual shift of visitor preferences.
•
The global economic crisis had an adverse
effect on overall tourist traffic, making, at the
same time, visitors more selective, uncompromis-
ing and demanding, and thus bringing to light the
Trade with Greece
142
Special forms of
tourism in Greece
By Ilias Iliopoulos
