Will Greece’s new campaign lure foreign tourists?
Greek tourism entrepreneurs, overheard at a National Tourism Organization of Greece (GNTO) stand at the recent Berlin Tourism Fair, the most important of its kind in the world, appeared to be surprised that after four years of inactivity in the runup to the Olympic Games, the country’s tourism officials had suddenly decided to launch a massive advertising campaign. They wondered if this would be a continuing trend or was just a passing phase. Their doubts are typical of most industry representatives, given nearly a decade of complaints during which time the number of tourists to Greece has slowly dwindled as a greater share of the market started heading to countries such as Spain and Turkey, where substantial investments have been made in recent years. The Berlin show and last November’s World Travel Market in London are reliable indicators of the state of Greek tourism, as those two countries account for about 40 percent of all foreign visitors to Greece. There are encouraging signs that 2005 will see an improvement in the number of arrivals, with more positive results expected for the following two years. However, those who still believe that Greece’s success with the Olympics is enough to attract more tourists are in the dark about how the world tourism market operates and the degree of competition. At the London exhibition, Greece occupied a place of honor among hundreds of other destinations; an attempt is being made to promote the country at the next Berlin show. In fact, plans for 2006 include not only a general Greek entry but a presentation of alternative forms of tourism, such as cultural, environmental, technological and educational tourism. The opportunity provided in advance of the Olympics was missed because no agreement had been reached between the GNTO and the Athens 2004 Olympics organizing committee for a joint campaign. After the Olympics, an accord was reached between the GNTO, the Tourism Development Ministry and Helexpo (the state body responsible for holding exhibitions). Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has shown a personal interest in giving priority to resolving problems that have accumulated in the sector over a number of years. The newly formed Tourism Development Ministry is expected to produce its first results this year. Four major firms (McCann Erickson, Clever Bank, BBDO Athens and Karamela) have joined forces to produce the slogan «Live your Myth in Greece.» In previous years, the tourism budget was negligible compared to that of many competitor countries. Both Turkey and Spain have spent 10 or 15 times more than Greece in recent years on advertising their holiday destinations. However, the government has now budgeted 10 times as much for 2005 – earmarking some 60 million euros for promoting tourism. For the first time, the government is supporting domestic tourism.
