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This paper presents the evolution of spatial planning as it was implemented in Greece since the end of the 2nd World War in connexion to its influence in the shaping and growing of Greek tourist destinations. The paper acknowledges that the spatial planning policies implemented and the spatial status that they form are proven to be crucial factors in the organizational model followed by the Greek tourist destinations. The lack of a consistent and complete planning for the Greek tourist destinations, which would have developmental dimensions, results to the application of incoherent and, in many cases, controversial policies that affects their evolution and prospects. As a consequence, referring to specific time periods based on the philosophy on the shaping of the tourist destination proves to be a very difficult task, since tourism policies have shown over time a wide discordance between the intentions of state planning and the policies implemented at a local level through a large number of legal exceptions. Moreover, there is an obvious lack of uniformity and consistency on the policies applied by a large number of competent authorities, such as the Greek Tourism Organization (GNTO), the Ministry of Culture, The Ministry of Environment, Regional and Local Authorities. In the long term, this inconsistency that prevails in the applied spatial and urban policies has served small properties and local interests and, consequently, the dominance of an indigenous "non-industrial" model of tourism development. The article concludes with the examination of complicated issues that spatial planning has to deal with during this current period of economic crisis in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a global high consumption industry with important sustainability implications. Given the strong link between tourism and transport, this research analyses the opinion of local authorities and stakeholders to help promote sustainable transport in the touristic islands of Chios and Lesvos, in the Aegean Sea, in Greece. The attitudes of stakeholders towards the current state of tourism, future targets of the tourism industry and ways that green transport may assist the local tourism industry achieve these targets, were analyzed. A total of 82 completed questionnaires were collected from public consultations in Chios and Lesvos. Tourism seasonality, an emphasis on sun and sea, the small size of tourist enterprises and pressure from tour operators were seen as problems of the existing situation of the tourist industry. Stakeholders considered the independent operation of local institutions, a reduction of the emphasis on sun and sea tourism as well as an increase in the size of enterprises, important future targets for the tourist industry. Finally, it was established that stakeholders thought that green transport may prove to be particularly helpful with an increase in the size of tourist enterprises, legalization of more unlicensed establishments and less emphasis on sun and sea tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores and evaluates the structure of the cognitive component of tourism destination image. The empirical study is operationalized in a sun-and-sand tourism destination of a Greek region. Given the reported multidimensionality of the construct, and the critic on the psychometric properties of previously defined scales measuring tourism destination image, this study examines the applicability of a new scale and provides empirical evidence to propose an alternative component structure for the formation of cognitive tourism destination image. Our analysis suggests four image dimensions: (1) must-be conditions (2) attractive conditions, (3) appealing activities, and (4) natural environment. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical work reported here was aimed at investigating Crete's fundamental attraction elements; six factors related to Crete's image were identified and examined in terms of their significance in predicting and explaining its overall image. While analysing the factors, 'seaside activities' was determined to be the most significant factor in identifying Crete's overall destination image. Through relevant factor analysis and subsequent multiple regression analysis, it was established that highly rated destination image dimensions may be among the most important ones influencing the destination's overall tourism image. Management implications are discussed and recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to: study the relative efficiency between hotels operating under a brand and hotels operating independently, on the island of Crete, Greece; identify the inefficiency causes; and suggest managerial implications to relevant business experts and managers in order to increase hotel efficiency in Crete and in other tourism destinations with similar characteristics. Design/methodology/approach - The sample is constituted by 50 superior hotels (luxury and class A) operating in Crete in 2008: 25 hotels are operating as totally independent and 25 hotels are operating under a brand. The efficiency for the above hotels is estimated through the data envelopment analysis methodology. Findings - First, nationally branded hotels are relatively the most efficient; internationally branded are the least efficient, while those operating under a local brand and the independent ones lie in between. This efficiency ranking can be explained by the interplay between operating under a brand and being flexible to changes in the local market's conditions. Second, the hotels' inefficiency cause is mainly due to the input/output configuration and not due to their management teams' performance to organize the inputs in the production process. Research limitations/implications - A direction for future research could be to enrich input and output variables. The paper could also be extended through a larger sample of hotels and an enriched data set covering more variables for more than one year, so as to study the dynamics of hotel efficiency. The larger sample could also contain hotels from other popular tourist destinations in Greece. Practical implications - The inefficiency causes are identified and, moreover, suggestions are made to hotel owners and managers, at the level of strategic and operational management, so as to increase hotel efficiency. Originality/value - This is the first study measuring hotel efficiency in Greece. Moreover, it identifies the inefficiency causes of hotels and offers suggestions, at the level of strategic and operational management, so as to increase hotel efficiency, which are applicable to Crete as well as to other tourism destinations with similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a direct comparison of destination image based on representative sample and empirical research of British first time visitors to the island of Corfu, Greece. The sample members were provided two questions, one at their arrival and before the departure. The study showed the pragmatic dimensions, indicated the priorities for management and marketing actions and recommended through comparison of a new kind of image.