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This paper examines the structure of the tourism information channels employed, as well as the existence of networks for the promotion of religious tourism in the prefecture of Arcadia, in Peloponnese, Greece. Quantitative methodology was employed with the use of a field survey research based on 775 valid questionnaires, in the province of Arcadia, including Greek and foreign tourists. Content analysis of 124 hotels websites which have an online presence also took place in order to examine the existence of networks in the area. Results regarding the type of the tourism information channels employed from the key stakeholders involved in the promotion of the region of Arcadia, reveal that the existence of networks in regard to religious tourism in Arcadia, Greece, is extremely limited, if not existing at all; religious tourists depend firstly on the traditional channel of word of mouth, as recommendations from friends and relatives is their first information channel choice, followed by the internet and thirdly, by hotel listings. However, all information channels do not take advantage of the density of the region and do not cooperate for marketing the area as a whole; the promotion of specific areas and businesses over others does not allow the expansion of networks to take place, as research has shown. The absence of network creation in the region under study illustrates an area that could be further improved, a goal of significant importance for economic development, especially in a period of economic crisis in Greece., tourismos, Vol. 13 No. 2 (2018)

Culinary culture has always been the longest-surviving part of a culture and tradition since it reflects daily life styles, religious beliefs, habits, traditions and customs. Gastronomy tourism has become a major and rapidly growing component of the attractiveness of tourism destination in recent years, as it is another treasure of cultural heritage. Greece boasts a fascinating gastronomic culture, thanks to a plethora of artisanal products, distinctive regional cuisines of over 4000 years of cultural heritage. This paper explores the basic principles of gastronomic tourism and investigates the way Greek Gastronomic tourism should be managed, in cooperation and coordination with both public and private tourism stakeholders, through carefully designed promotional activities in a variety of distribution channels.

One of the remaining gaps in the extant entrepreneurship literature relates to the insufficient understanding of the role of culture, and the need for elucidating its effects on the entrepreneurial process dynamics. Despite the crisis, Greece experiences a vibrant start-up scene and the entire capital city of Athens is buzzing with activity. Despite cultural differences between the North and South of Europe, it seems that there is a lot of cooperation between young people wanting to create their own businesses, since young Greeks are well-educated, speak English very well and like to get into business. Game-changing innovators drawn from many disciplines such as technology, tourism and entertainment, design, the sciences, the humanities, the arts, NGOs, business and more, coming from around the country, seem to join internationally renowned speakers and research centers from Universities from all of Europe by creating incubators and positively affecting interpersonal trust and the allocation of entrepreneurial action over newly emerging independent businesses and established organizations in society. This paper will address the issue of the making of an entrepreneur in Greece and the role of ICTs using case studies and the Greek tourism and transport sector. Characteristics of the people engaging in starting up a business will be discussed and the implications for policy makers will be analyzed, so as to help create more start-ups and improve the chances of survival of existing ones.

The growing international demand for top medical services in combination with consumers’ constant research for competitive prices in such services, has led to the growth of medical and health tourism in Greece, mainly because of the country’s Mediterranean climate and its qualified health experts. In accordance with the above, the use of the Internet enables the Greek medical community to expand its marketing and advertising outside its borders. In this paper, the authors try to form a data base of the medical tourism providers in Greece and then they proceed with a website evaluation of the medical tourism providers in order to investigate and appraise their internet appearance. The results of the website evaluation can in turn lead to useful practical results with the aim of providing a successful e-marketing strategy implementation of the medical tourism providers.

The growing international demand for top medical services in combination with consumers' constant research for competitive prices in such services, has led to the growth of medical and health tourism in Greece, mainly because of the country's Mediterranean climate and its qualified health experts. In accordance with the above, the use of the Internet enables the Greek medical community to expand its marketing and advertising outside its borders. In this paper, the authors try to form a data base of the medical tourism providers in Greece and then they proceed in a website evaluation of the medical tourism providers in order to investigate and appraise their internet appearance. The results of the website evaluation can in turn lead to useful practical results with the aim of providing a successful e-marketing strategy implementation of the medical tourism providers., tourismos, Vol. 12 No. 1 (2017)

Sport tourism has enjoyed a plethora of definitional and theoretical perspectives over the last three decades proposing a dynamic alternative to mass tourism with specific structural features and modus operandi. However, studies examining or suggesting the basic body of knowledge that would satisfy the educational needs of participants in this complex tourism form are lacking. The present study - through an analysis of the involved conceptual fields - aims to minor the gap between theoretical support and direction for tourism academics and the realistic skills needed by the sport tourism industry. The main focus of the study is to provide a theoretical platform based on the available paradigms that would facilitate the build of sport tourism related curriculums. The study embraces an analysis of available secondary sources, academic course outlines, official university’s sites, policy declarations, etc. and parallels theoretical models to produce the basic thematic dimensions of a relevant conceptual framework. Hopefully, the result will offer a vision on the further development of sport tourism education to meet the needs of one of the most promising leisure forms., El turismo del deporte ha disfrutado de una plétora de perspectivas de definición y teóricas durante las tres últimas décadas, proponiendo una alternativa dinámica al turismo en masa con características estructurales específicas y modus operandi. Sin embargo, faltan estudios que examinen o sugirieran el los conocimientos básicos que satisfagan las necesidades educativas de los participantes en esta forma compleja de turismo. El presente estudio, a través de un análisis de los campos conceptuales involucrados, pretende reducir la brecha entre el apoyo teórico y la dirección para el turismo académico y las habilidades realistas necesarias para la industria del turismo deportivo. El objetivo principal del estudio es proveer una plataforma teorética basada en los paradigmas disponibles que facilitarían la construcción de currículos relacionados con el turismo deportivo. El estudio abarca un análisis de fuentes secundarias disponibles, esquemas de recursos académicos, sitios oficiales de la universidad, declaraciones de políticas, etc. Y modelos teoréticos paralelos para producir las dimensiones temáticas básicas de un marco conceptual relevante. Esperamos que el resultado ofrezca una visión sobre el desarrollo la educación del turismo deportivo para satisfacer las necesidades de una de las más prometedoras formas de ocio.

Greece is experiencing a deep economic crisis while seeking for new sources of revenues. Nowadays, medical tourism seems to be an effective mean of economic growth, which could facilitate the way out of the crisis. The aim of this paper is to investigate tourism companies’ readiness to invest in medical tourism in Greece and the ICT infrastructure underlying it. For this purpose, a nationwide survey was carried out in 2012. The target population consisted of all the 337 5-star hotels across the country and 28 companies-members of the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers (HAPCO). Data was gathered by emailing a structured questionnaire to the executives of the abovementioned companies, which investigated the executives’ opinion and experience regarding the characteristics of the tourism facilities of their company, their evaluation of the existing medical tourist infrastructure in Greece and perspectives for future investment in the field. Descriptive and econometric analyses have been performed and logistic regression was applied. According to our findings, high class hotels seem to be willing to invest in medical tourism, since they have the ability and the relevant infrastructure to develop it. Obviously, medical tourism in Greece could constitute an important source of national income and consequently, an alternative for the country to exit the economic crisis, provided care is given to ICT infrastructure and legislation procedures.

Advances in electronic-based information and communication technologies (ICTs) are rapidly transforming social and economic conditions across the globe. As the cost of ICTs continues to fall and their capabilities increase, their applications are becoming even more vital to all sectors of the economy and society. Developments and continued growth in ICT and its application in the tourism sector have empowered the tourism consumer and are driving significant change within the tourism industry. The increasing spread and uses of ICT create new opportunities for countries to harness these technologies and services to promote social and economic development and human justice. Given the growing importance of technology in all organizational functions and areas, organizations can either adapt to technological changes or will have to face a decline in their organizational viability. This article is concerned with the administration of ICT in tourism regional planning and the concept of organizational change. The paper explores areas of ICT literacy, and concludes that a number of challenges must be addressed if the full benefit of the use and application of ICT in tourism. The article draws the attention of all the stakeholders in the tourism sector to the need to support and promote ICT as the most effective tool for tourism regional planning, tourist information access and dissemination as well as the tourism regional development participants need for organizational change.

This article identifies typical patterns of information sourcing behavior in the travel decision process of the cultural traveler. Trip characteristics, degree of packaging, choice of accommodation and sociodemographic variables are also discussed. Using data from the province of Arcadia, Greece, which serves as the research field of a longitudinal study, the present article provides some new insight into how information search affects cultural travelers. Tourists interested in learning about the local culture/history would primarily seek information on their destination place from recommendations made by friends and family and secondly by looking for information on the Internet. The findings suggest strategies for marketing management decisions and a comprehensive understanding of the cultural travel market segment from a consumer behavior perspective.