In an interview last Friday May 7th, Professor Dimitrios Buhalis (foto) from Bournemouth University said it is inevitable that prospective travelers to Greece worry when the watch the images in their television screen and hear the bad news about the Greek economy. However they need to realise that although the economic situation is quite serious. Greece is still a wonderful destination to visit with fantastic resources and very hospitable people. Now more than ever Greece needs tourism to come out of the economic turbulence and many Greek hotels, operators and service companies are improving their services and prices to deal with the situation. Aquis Hotels and Resorts is an example of such new companies that emerge to serve the customers in the new era that is emerging in Greece People also need appreciating that this is exactly the time to show their appreciation for a destination and place by visiting showing solidarity and also inserting some income into the local society.
As far as the Greek tourism industry is concerned it is incredibly important to understand the fears of the markets and act systematically to inform their markets through using technology, social networking and other marketing and public relationships techniques. As anybody who has been in any of my classes will tell you that in situations of crisis reliable, accurate and objective information is absolutely critical for managing the crisis and making a speedy recovery. Spreading emotional and irrational information around does not help -regardless of what people feel and what emotional drama have gone themselves – it just spreading a feeling of fear around and often this is not justified at all.
It is important for all to realise the economic situation in Greece was expected from experienced analysts. What was less expected was the speculations of the markets and the political pressures at a European level. The government is making everything possible to stabilise the economic situation and return Greece to growth as soon as possible. In the meanwhile tourism has been identified as one of the key areas for early recovery. Greece is one of the safest destinations to visit around the world. Protests that are happening will be primarily in Syntagma square in Athens – Opposite the Parliament and in the Exarhia area. This is around 5 square km in the centre of Athens. Although violence is a possibility in these protests, the vast majority of the Greek population are understandably protesting peacefully against the austerity measure but quietly realise there is no other option. There is little tolerance for violence in Greece and this will reduce the risks. It is very unlikely that any of these disruptions will affect Greek tourism on the islands and away from the 5 sq km in the centre of Athens. Therefore we really need to support Greece and the Greek people by enjoying the wonderful resources of the country.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
