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The Views of Greek Mountain Travelers on Mountain Tourism During Summertime: A Questionnaire Web-Based Analysis

  • Conference paper
Cultural Tourism in a Digital Era

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

Abstract

Almost 78 % of Greece is mountainous, with uniquely beautiful landscapes, rich culture and warm hospitality. Local wintertime tourism, which has traditionally been a strong pillar for the economies of mountainous areas, could decrease significantly in the future, due to economic crisis, but also due to decreased snow coverage according to the predicted climate trends for the coming years. This paper is based on the idea to address the crisis in the mountainous areas of Greece, and ski destinations in particular, by an all-year model of operation that could alleviate seasonality (at least in part) and yield important social and financial benefits for the local communities. Our thesis is motivated by successful summer-tourism practices of ski centers around the word. Are Greek people actually willing to visit ski destinations after the short ski season, and if so what are their preferences on possible activities, services and facilities in ski centers (assuming they would operate all year long)? To answer such questions, we created a self-administered, web-based questionnaire that was circulated to the public via e-mail and social media for a period of one month. About 460 people, most of them fans of the Greek mountains, completed the questionnaire. We present and discuss data collected and analyzed, focusing on the participants’ preferences on possible activities, services and organizational aspects of mountain tourism during summertime.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Professor Spyros Lalis for his assistance and useful comments to the final draft. Special thanks also to all the participants of the survey.

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  1. Metsovion Interdisciplinary Research Center, National Technical University of Athens, Patission 42, 10682, Athens, Greece

    Natali Dologlou & Vaios Kotsios

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  1. Natali Dologlou
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  2. Vaios Kotsios
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Correspondence to Natali Dologlou .

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  1. Technological Educational Institute, Athens, Greece

    Vicky Katsoni

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Dologlou, N., Kotsios, V. (2015). The Views of Greek Mountain Travelers on Mountain Tourism During Summertime: A Questionnaire Web-Based Analysis. In: Katsoni, V. (eds) Cultural Tourism in a Digital Era. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15859-4_1

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